Friday, July 3, William and Mary Director of Athletics Brian Mann announced the hiring of Adam Smith as the Tribe’s newest director of track and field and cross country. Smith becomes the Tribe’s fourth program director, succeeding Alex Heacock ’09, who spent the past 10 years at the helm and is transitioning to an assistant athletic director role. As program director, Smith oversees all team operations, including coaching and staff hiring.
Smith brings a wealth of experience and expertise in distance running to the Tribe. He had a successful collegiate career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, serving as team captain and winning an Atlantic Coast Conference championship in the indoor medley relay before starting his coaching career as a volunteer.
In 2012, Smith moved to Syracuse University to be an assistant coach for the cross country team. In 2015, under his leadership, the program won its first men’s national championship in 64 years.
From 2018 to 2022, Smith stepped away from the collegiate scene to help found the Reebok Boston Running Club. The group quickly became a premier destination for professional distance runners, including Olympians Justyn Knight and Amy-Eloise Neale.
Smith spent the past four years as the associate head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach at the University of Mississippi. During his tenure, his teams achieved three top-25 championship finishes and earned numerous National Collegiate Athletic Association championship qualifications.
“I wasn’t planning on leaving Ole Miss — that was a great place down there, and I was fortunate to be part of a really special program and help build something,” Smith said. “But when this job came open, I did everything I could to get it.”
Smith noted William and Mary’s tradition of academic and athletic excellence as a major factor in his decision to lead the Tribe.
“You don’t get many chances to get the best of both worlds,” Smith said. “William and Mary is an incredible academic institution, and it’s obviously got a history of being a really good athletic place as well.”
He also said the school’s location and supportive administration create a compelling environment for prospective student-athletes, bolstering future recruiting efforts.
“This was an opportunity where I felt like you could be really successful recruiting student-athletes to accomplish what they need to in the classroom and on the track,” Smith said.
Smith said his vision for the program focuses on continuing the rich tradition of distance running success established by his predecessors. He added he believes building a dominant distance group will drive success in track and field conference championships by generating substantial point totals, ultimately elevating the Tribe’s national profile.
“William and Mary has such a history of being a really great distance program, so that’s really the first priority, getting the distance group back to the regional and national level, to the level I believe we should be,” Smith said. “[We are] doing everything we can to be a distance power.”
As he transitions to Williamsburg, Va, Smith said he is thankful for the current student-athletes.
“This locker room is pretty good already,” he added. “There’s some really good bones in there, and they’ve embraced my vision and my dreams.”
Smith said an early priority is building trust.
“They were recruited by somebody that wasn’t me, and so it’s an important part of this process,” Smith said. “I’ve got to do everything I can to earn their trust and do that the right way.”
Smith has already started structuring his staff around these goals, announcing assistant coaches Chris Fox and Shannon Malone Wednesday, Aug. 19. Fox previously served as the head coach at Syracuse and co-founded the Reebok Boston Running Club. Malone joins the Tribe after serving as an assistant coach at Boston College and competing as a collegiate cross country runner. Additional staff announcements are expected before the season begins in September.
