Bobby Smitheran - Executive Director of Athletics - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Bobby Smitheran

Title:
Executive Director of Athletics
Email:

Bobby Smitheran was officially named the 13th Executive Director of Athletics at Long Beach State in August 2023, and has immediately contributed to the legacy of the Beach in his time as the leader of Long Beach State athletics.

Working immediately to implement his vision, Smitheran has made six head coaching hires in his two years, adding new leadership for Men’s Basketball, Baseball and Cross Country in his first year as well as extending the contracts for two rising golf coaches in Alyssa Waite and Rob Murray. Smitheran installed Natalie Reagan as the head coach for Women’s Volleyball after a successful 2024 campaign an interim, hired Kendall Fearn to lead the softball program following the retirement of Kim Sowder, and ensured continuity within the Women’s Tennis program by selecting Gertjan De Wilder to lead the program as an Interim Head Coach following the retirement of Jenny Hilt-Costello.

Under Smitheran’s leadership, the Long Beach State Athletics Hall of Fame had its first induction ceremony since 2018 and has returned to an annual cadence. Additionally, Smitheran created the Long Beach State Student-Athlete Leadership Council, recognizing the need for additional ways for student-athletes to make their voices heard regarding departmental initiatives, and leaning heavily into the completion of curriculum for the BeAChampion program, a class offered to student-athletes tailored to their experiences to provide additional academic and life skills support through one class targeted towards the specific needs of each academic class year.

Long Beach State student-athletes saw great success under his leadership, both in competition and in the classroom. The Beach claimed a 16th National Championship as the 2025 Men’s Volleyball team completed a historic season, going 30-3 behind national player of the year Moni Nikolov. In two years, Long Beach State has won eight conference championships and had 10 NCAA postseason appearances, including a return to March Madness for Men’s Basketball for the first time since 2012. Additionally, Long Beach State played host to the 2024 Men’s Volleyball National Championship inside of the Walter Pyramid, a tournament that saw the nationally ranked Men’s Volleyball team play in the championship match.

Financially, Smitheran helped restore Long Beach State to a strong position. Generating over $1 million in revenue each year since his arrival and meeting aggressive fundraising goals, Long Beach State has erased a multi-million dollar shortfall during his tenure. Additionally, Smitheran has incorporated new ideas into work supporting student-athletes, including welcoming back the Area Code Games to Bohl Diamond a Blair Field, a signature underclass event for both professional and collegiate baseball.

Smitheran was hired as the Executive Director of Athletics after 20 years of experience in intercollegiate athletics, including serving as the Executive Associate Athletics Director at San Diego State University.

In his role at SDSU, Smitheran was responsible for managing the comprehensive academic support program, as well as supervising the areas of Athletic Medicine, Strength & Conditioning, Student-Athlete Development, and NCAA/Institutional Drug Testing. Smitheran was the sports supervisor for the Aztec football program for seven years and the softball program for five years.

Smitheran also worked a two-year stint in 2011 and 2012 as the Director of Operations for the SDSU football team, overseeing all administrative aspects of the program. With Smitheran on the gridiron staff, the Aztecs appeared in two straight bowl games (New Orleans and Poinsettia) and captured the Mountain West Conference championship in 2012.

Smitheran first arrived at SDSU in 2008 as the department's Student-Athlete Services Coordinator, serving as a liaison to the University's admissions and housing offices, as well as the NCAA Eligibility Center.

Smitheran began his career in intercollegiate athletics as Compliance Coordinator at the University of North of Texas in 1999-2000 before spending the next seven years at UC Irvine, including the final three as Assistant Athletic Director of Compliance and Student Support. Two of the sports he worked directly with at UCI included men's volleyball (2007 NCAA champion) and baseball (2007 College World Series appearance). With the Anteaters, Smitheran supervised the department's compliance program and had significant responsibilities including admissions, housing, administrative services, and financial aid and scholarships.

A native of Riverside, California, Smitheran played four years of collegiate baseball at the University of New Mexico, earning academic all-conference honors with the Lobos as a senior in 1996. After receiving his undergraduate degree in communications, he remained in Albuquerque, completing his master's degree in physical education at UNM in 1999 with a specialization in sports administration.

Smitheran and his wife Karen have two children, Tyler and Cooper.