On March 12, 1997, Lewis Bivens announced his retirement as head coach of the Middle Tennessee State women's basketball team.
[1] At the time of his announcement, Smith was promoted to head coach for the 1997–1998 season.
[1] During her tenure with the Blue Raiders, Smith led Middle Tennessee to three NCAA Tournament appearances, two Ohio Valley Conference championships and back-to-back Sun Belt Conference championships.
[2] In April 2005, Smith was hired to replace Rick Moody as head basketball coach at Alabama, and became only the school's 7th head coach in school history.
The team ended the 2007–2008 season with a 14-game losing streak, and as a result Smith was removed from her position on March 11, 2008, by athletics director Mal Moore.