University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Former Bulldog Chris Smith Continues To Serve Our Asheville Community
08.16.2022 | General
When Chris Smith is working to get sports events to come to Asheville, he often returns to the lessons he learned at UNC Asheville as an undergraduate.
Smith is a former baseball letterman for the Bulldogs in the late 1980's. He later worked for the Asheville Tourists as an Assistant General Manager for 24 years and was a key component in the Tourists being one of the most successful minor league baseball franchises in the country.Â
But Chris has always been about more than baseball. He has served on numerous volunteer committees, including being a part of the Asheville Buncombe Regional Sports Commission since its inception in 2008. In July, he was named as the Interim Director of the Commission after the departure of former director Demp Bradford.
The Sports Commission brings athletic events to Asheville and helps run those events when they come to the Land of the Sky. Smith has been a major part of those events, including the Southern Conference men's and women's basketball tournament, the Maui Classic when it was played in Asheville during the pandemic and the three Billie Jean King Cup tennis tournaments.
"People want to come to Asheville and it's our job when they get here that we make their events into turnkey operations," said Smith. Â "We want them to worry as little as possible and just enjoy everything Asheville has to offer."
"The more events we bring to Buncombe County and Asheville, the more beneficial it is for our region," added Smith. "Once people come here for the first time, most of them want to come back again and again."
Chris is a native of the mountains and enjoyed a great baseball career at Hendersonville High School before accepting an athletic scholarship to play baseball in the early days of the Bulldog program.
"I appreciate Ken Bagwell (UNC Asheville's first baseball coach) taking a chance on me and signing me to a scholarship," said Smith. "It was an exciting time for me to continue my baseball career so close to home."
"But the most important thing was that I went to a school that provided me with an incredible education," he said.
"There's not a day in this job I have right now where I don't think about or rely on something I learned at UNC Asheville," stated Smith. "I took a lot of business management courses that have really helped me, first when I worked for the Asheville Tourists and especially now with the Sports Commission."
"I majored in Mass Communication and those classes have been with me throughout my entire career," added Smith. "I took a few psychology classes and it's helped me understand and be able to predict people at certain times."
"Taking those humanities classes like we all have to at UNC Asheville has been a real help to me," declared Smith. "Those classes make you think and prepare you for life after college. It seems like every class I took at Asheville has helped me in some way in my career. I am so grateful for my UNC Asheville education."Â
Smith heads up a Sports Commission that has been busy over the past few years bringing events to Asheville and Buncombe County. He may be new at leading the Commission but he's determined to keep bringing athletic events to town.
"We've got big plans and hope to bring in some even bigger events than we've had over the last few years," commented Smith. "We're so lucky in Asheville to have so many great community partners that collaborate with us."
And some of that help comes from UNC Asheville Director of Athletics Janet Cone. Cone helped create the Sports Commission and was a former chair. She currently serves as a founding board member for the group.
"We're so lucky to have Janet as part of the Sports Commission," stated Smith. "She is a huge help to us and has been so vital to our success. I look forward to working with her in my new role."
Also working with Chris is another Bulldog, Madison Davis. Davis played on two Big South Conference championship men's basketball teams and then served as an assistant coach with the Bulldogs for several years. Madison has been Vice President of Operations with the Sports Commission for the past six years.
"We can never have enough Bulldogs working with us," joked Smith. "I'm so happy to have Madison Davis on our staff. I have been so impressed with his work ethic and organizational skills over the years. We're darn lucky to have him with us on the Commission."
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