The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Director of Operations
Former All-American and WNBA player Christy Smith is in her third season as the director of operations for the Texas women’s basketball team.
Smith brings a wealth of coaching experience having served as an assistant coach at Valparaiso, Purdue and Arkansas.
The Oxford, Ind., native has a rich basketball background. In the space of 12 months, Smith led Team USA to gold at the World University Games, Arkansas to the NCAA Final Four and the Charlotte Sting into the WNBA playoffs.
Smith was a four-time honorable mention All-American as a point guard for the Arkansas Razorbacks, was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll three times, earned first team All-SEC as a senior after twice being named second team All-SEC. In 1995, she earned SEC Freshman of the Year recognition.
The three-time team captain is eight all-time at Arkansas in scoring with 1,459 career points, Smith also ranks fourth in school history with 507 career assists and third with 239 steals. She is second all-time in made free throws, connecting on 461, a mark that ranks 10th in the SEC as well. Smith finished her collegiate career shooting 83.7 percent from the charity stripe, second best in Razorback history, and holds the single-season school record of 89.9 percent set in the 1994-1995 season, a year she led the nation in that category.
Smith was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll three times while at Arkansas. She competed for the United States at the World University Games in Italy in 1997, winning a gold medal for her country. She also represented the North on the 1995 Olympic Festival Team.
After a stellar senior season, Smith was drafted No. 17 overall by the Charlotte Sting in 1998 where she played two seasons for the WNBA franchise.
Smith was inducted into the University Of Arkansas Hall Of Honor in 2005, the fifth women’s basketball player at the school to receive such an honor. Smith was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
Smith has two degrees from Arkansas. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science in 1998 and went on to earn a master’s degree in biomechanics in 2001.
