2019 NACDA and Affiliates Annual Convention

Darnell Smith
Assistant Athletics Director/Compliance
University of Central Oklahoma


Darnell Smith is in his ninth year at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO), currently serving as Assistant athletics Director. Smith manages the areas of NCAA compliance, student-athlete services and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) while also directing the student-athlete welfare programming and serving as Deputy Title IX Coordinator for athletics. Smith is a member of NAAC, N4A, MOAA, the NCAA Division II Ethnic Minority and Women's Internship Grant Selection Committee, and the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Region V Selection Committee. In addition, he was selected as a member of the prestigious NCAA Pathway Program (2017), NCAA Leadership Institute (2015), and the NCAA & D2 ADA Mentoring Program for Women & Minorities (2015). Furthermore, in the fall 2017, Smith served as a facilitator at the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum and was honored as a recipient of the MOAA Founders’ Grant (2018) and the NAAC Division II Excellence Award in 2018. Smith earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Oklahoma State and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Oklahoma. Smith has previously worked at the University of New Mexico and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

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