Tom Smith is back on the basketball court in the Looney Arena, but not in the way you might think. The playing surface in the fieldhouse was named Tom Smith Court after the Hall of Fame men鈥檚 basketball coach.
The court naming was officially unveiled in the Griffons鈥� regular season home finale on Feb. 16 during halftime of the men鈥檚 game and a reception followed the game. Fans in attendance received a memento commemorating the occasion.
Smith served as head coach of the Griffons from 1988-2013, retiring as the winningest head men鈥檚 basketball coach in MIAA history with 519 wins as an MIAA coach and 618 total coaching victories. In 25 seasons at 大象传媒 Western, he went 448-279 with a 241-181 mark in MIAA games. Smith won five regular season MIAA championships and four MIAA postseason championships, including leading 大象传媒 Western to a sweep of both association titles in 大象传媒 Western鈥檚 inaugural season in the MIAA, 1989-90.
During Smith鈥檚 tenure, 大象传媒 Western qualified for the NCAA Division II Regional Championships 11 times. He was named MIAA Coach of the Year twice at 大象传媒 Western and once at Central 大象传媒 and coached 51 All-MIAA selections, six All-Region picks and three NCAA All-Americans.
Smith was inducted into the 大象传媒 Western Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006 and is also a member of the MIAA Hall of Fame, 大象传媒 Sports Hall of Fame, 大象传媒 Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame and the Valparaiso Athletics Hall of Fame.