Stephanie Smith has been a familiar name to fans of the NIU basketball program for over a decade now.
As a four-year letterwinner for NIU (2001-04), Smith is in her fifth season with the Huskies after returning to DeKalb after coaching eight years at the high school level. Most recently, she was the head women's varsity coach at Burlington Central in Burlington, Ill., where she tallied a 28-28 record.
With two seasons as the Huskies' graduate assistant from 2011-13 and two more years as the team's Director of Basketball Operations, Smith enters her first season as an assistant coach. Prior to becoming an assitant, Smith was charged with handling all travel operations, scheduling, administrative duties, events and other tasks that take place during the course of the season, as well as helping coordinate between opponents.
“Having Steph here in the transition has been huge help with her understanding of NIU, but more than that, Steph provides a passion for the university as an alum that you just can’t replicate and that’s what drew me the most to her when I thought of elevating her to the staff” said Head Coach Lisa Carlsen. “Her organization skills and her ability to help us in the transition was great but she can sell NIU because she’s lived NIU as player and as a staff member. I think that will shine through as a recruiter in the future.”Prior to her brief tenure with the Rockets, Smith served as an assistant at Marian Catholic in Chicago Heights, Ill., and at South Elgin in Elgin, Ill. She also coached AAU basketball in Illinois, coaching the Illinois Wolverines and Team USA in Elgin.
A 2004 NIU graduate, Smith received her master's degree from NIU in 2013 in adult and high education.
As a Huskie, Smith played in 113 games during her career and made 36 starts as a guard. She scored 475 points (4.2/game) and held a career .350 (83-237) three-point shooting percentage, good for 10th-best in program history.
THE SMITH FILE
Education: NIU, 2004, 2013
Hometown: Hampshire, Ill.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
2013-15 NIU, Director of Operations
2011-13 NIU, Graduate Assistant
2009-11 Burlington Central, Head Coach
2008-09 South Elgin, Assistant Coach
2005-08 Marian Catholic, Assistant Coach
