Blake Smith was hired as the Assistant Athletic Director - Director of Sports Information by Vice President for Athletics and Club Sports Craig McPhail on August 16, 2022. Smith comes to the mountains from Fairmont State University, where he was the Sports Information Director and the primary contact for 17 NCAA Division II athletic programs.

"I'm excited to officially welcome Blake to our staff here at Lees-McRae," said McPhail. "His knowledge and skills, paired with his personality and work ethic, fit what we were looking for to continue the progress we've made in developing a strong marketing and communication department. He will be a great teammate in this department as well as the Bobcat Nation community."

As the Sports Information Director at Fairmont State, Smith oversaw graphic design materials and broadcasting through BlueFrame Technology, updating the athletic department's SIDEARM website, serving as the primary statistician for home games, while also promoting a CoSIDA Academic All-American, numerous All-MEC First Team honorees, and multiple All-Atlantic Region selections.

"I am grateful for this opportunity to be a part of the athletic department at Lees-McRae College and want to thank Craig McPhail and Patrick Smith for this opportunity," said Smith. "I am excited to get starting working alongside the coaching staff at Lees-McRae and to become a part of the Bobcat Nation."

Prior to his experience at Fairmont State, Smith served as the Sports Information Director at Alderson Broaddus and was the primary contact for 24 NCAA Division II athletic programs. After spending his first year in Philippi, West Virginia as the Assistant Sports Information Director, following the completion of his Bachelor's degree in Statistics from James Madison University, Smith was promoted to the director position and became the main coordinator for both the Alderson Broaddus' broadcasting initiatives and content creator for the SIDEARM website.