MCC News
Fri, Aug 27, 2010 - [MCC]

Following a 12-month hiatus from his part-time role as Mid-Central College Conference sports information director, Taylor University Sports Information Director Eric Smith has returned to assist MCC Commissioner J.D. Collins in directing the league's public relations efforts.

Smith previously served in the position during the 2008-09 academic year before Bret Burchard took over in 2009. Burchard has since departed to take a position as basketball communications manager with the NBA's Phoenix Suns and basketball communications manager with the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA.

"Bret Burchard did an outstanding job of moving the MCC forward with media relations and overall athletic communications," said Collins. "I am confident that our presence as a premier conference in the NAIA will continue to be enhanced with the hiring of Eric Smith."
 
A native of Bluffton, Ohio, Smith will coordinate the efforts of the nine conference sports information directors to increase conference media exposure and enhance the MCC brand. He will also oversee the official conference website, http://www.mid-centralconf.org/, and the MCC Twitter account, @MidCentralConf.
 
This fall marks the beginning of Smith's second year as Taylor's sports information director, where he is responsible for media relations, public relations, and website development for the Trojans' 15 intercollegiate sports. Before being promoted to full-time SID last summer, he worked as a part-time assistant for the Trojans from 2007-2009.
 
Smith currently serves as the MCC representative on the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators Advisory Council. As the chair of the NAIA-Sports Information Directors of America (NAIA-SIDA) History and Records committee, he has spearheaded efforts to develop NAIA all-time wins lists in men's basketball, women's basketball, and volleyball. This summer Smith was also asked to serve on the NAIA-SIDA Branding Committee and the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America® Committee.
 
Each of the last two years Smith has been invited to present at the NAIA National Convention on the topic of social media. His talks have included Discovering the value of Facebook in College Athletics and Twitter: A newer frontier.
 
Prior to his arrival at Taylor, Smith spent six years in the sports marketing industry working for General Sports and Entertainment in Rochester, Mich. He served as Director of Executive Placement, overseeing the company's professional sports team executive search division. In addition to his position at General Sports, Smith was an assistant track and field and cross country coach for two seasons at Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Mich.
 
Smith earned his bachelor's degree in business administration with a marketing concentration from The Ohio State University in 2000.
 
He and his wife, Brittany, live in Upland with their two children, Jack and Audrey.