‘You’re going to love him’

When Arthur Blank expressed an interest in launching a Major League Soccer franchise in Atlanta, the Atlanta Falcons owner had a knowledgeable resource on his staff, vice president and chief marketing officer Jim Smith. Smith’s experience, which included being president and general manager of the Columbus Crew, was invaluable in swaying colleagues, such as Falcons CEO Rich McKay, who had reservations.

“Arthur really wanted to buy an MLS team and make it work,” McKay said. “I would say the people that were on the frontline — one of which was myself — were more skeptical on our ability to deliver and whether it was the right thing to do, and I would say that Jim was the tipping point that said, ‘Yes, it is, and we should do it.’ And therefore we did do it.”

That conviction is one of several assets that will serve Smith, 59, well in his new role as athletic director at Maryland, according to those who know him. Smith, whose hiring was announced Thursday, succeeds Damon Evans, who left in March for the same position at SMU.

Monte Ortel is the executive director of the Mitsubishi Electric Classic, a PGA Tour Champions tournament in Duluth, Georgia. Smith is a member of the board of directors, and Ortel said Terps fans are getting a tireless and innovative leader.

“I think only time will tell, but there’s going to be an energy that is going to be there and his approach is going to be to the betterment of the institution,” said Ortel, who is the chief operating officer of Gas South District. “If I was a fan of the Maryland Terrapins, I’d be ecstatic with his hiring.”

Smith inherits an athletic department that was embroiled in two months of flux. Former men’s basketball coach Kevin Willard left the program March 30 — just three days after guiding the team to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2016 – for Villanova, and every player on the roster with eligibility entered the transfer portal.

Although the school hired Buzz Williams away from Texas A&M on April 1, the program is still trying to rebuild its roster. And the atmosphere around the football team remains tense as Michael Locksley attempts to rebound from a 4-8 season (1-7 in the Big Ten) that matched the 2019 squad’s school record for most losses in conference play.

Dan Courtemanche, the executive vice president of communications for Major League Soccer, has known Smith since 2000. At that time, Smith was hired by the Hunt family, owners of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, to run the Columbus Crew. Courtemanche said Smith won’t allow previous blemishes to derail his plan for moving the athletic department forward.

“This is one of the top opportunities in the country for someone to come into and make an impact in a terrific market with a wonderful conference at a strong school academically that has provided the resources for athletics,” Courtemanche said. “Jim will come in and look at everything through a different lens and theoretically be able to create new revenue streams to be able to provide more resources that will continue to elevate the performance on the field and off the field of the Maryland athletic department.”

Smith brings a wealth of experience to the job. After graduating from Northwestern with a bachelor’s in communication and Ohio State with a master’s in sports management in 1991, he was director of Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum at Sam Houston State from May 1991 to April 1994. The venue hosts the school’s basketball programs and volleyball team.

In 1994, Smith joined the World Wrestling Federation as its director of live marketing. He shared a story with Nick Masino, president and CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber in Georgia, about how WWF owner Vince McMahon fired every executive except for Smith, who was just a few weeks into the job.

“I can’t even imagine Jim in professional wrestling because he’s so professional and corporate,” Masino said.

From February 2000 to July 2004, Smith ran the Columbus Crew, which advanced to the MLS playoff quarterfinals in 2001 and semifinals in 2002. Courtemanche recalled several instances when Smith challenged rulings handed down by the league office.

“I know there were times when people would say, ‘Hey, Jim Smith is tough with these decisions, but he’s thoughtful, professional and measured with his approach in terms of how he addresses some of his concerns,’” Courtemanche said. “He was definitely tough and would stand his ground, but would provide specific rationale as to why he and his organization felt a certain way, and we always appreciated that.”

Smith left the Crew to join the Falcons from July 2004 to December 2013. He then moved to executive vice president and chief marketing and revenue officer for the Falcons, Atlanta United and AMB Sports and Entertainment from December 2013 to March 2016.