Bradley Pierson After rebuilding the men's basketball program at NCAA Division III member Sewanee, former Furman University captain Ryan "Bubba" Smith now takes over at Division II Lee University.
Smith was introduced Friday morning at a news conference on the Lee campus in Cleveland as the ninth coach in program history and said it was "a humbling experience" for him and his family - wife Cortney and four children, ages 14 to 7.
"It did not take long when we got here to see this was a special place," Smith said. "We knew coming in what the university stood for, its values, and those were closely aligned with the values of our family."
Sewanee athletic director Mark Webb, meanwhile, quickly moved to promote Smith's assistant of the last five years, Bradley Pierson, to succeed Smith and become the basketball Tigers' 22nd head coach. Pierson is a former Sewanee captain.
"Bubba has completed a remarkable tenure as Sewanee's head men's basketball coach," Webb said in a separate release. "He has been an outstanding representative of the university and has developed Sewanee basketball into a conference contender in the competitive Southern Athletic Association. I remain sincerely remain grateful to Coach Smith for his many contributions to the university and offer our best wishes to Bubba and his family in their move to Lee University."
Smith has paid more attention to the Cleveland school in recent years than he otherwise might have because his niece, Shelby Brown, is a mainstay on the Lee women's team.
Smith said he is looking forward to competing in the Gulf South Conference, where he already has coaching friendships. Shorter coach Tyler Murray played at Hampden-Sydney for Smith, who added that he shares frequent conversations with Alabama-Huntsville coach Lennie Acuff.
Smith was one of more than 250 applicants for the Flames job, according to Lee athletic director Larry Carpenter.
Lee's president, Paul Conn, said Smith "is clearly an outstanding young coach, and I am confident he has the right stuff to lead our men's basketball program into the top echelon of NCAA D2 teams in our conference and nationally."
Making steady progress after he arrived, Sewanee won 99 games in Smith's eight years there, after he accumulated 94 wins in five seasons as Hampden-Sydney's head coach following three years as an assistant there to current William & Mary coach Tony Shaver. The 2015-16 Sewanee team went 20-8, the Tigers' best record since 20-6 in 1997-98, and reached the Southern Athletic Association tournament final.
"The administration there has been unbelievable to us over the last eight years," Smith said. "Mark Webb has allowed us to run our program in a first-class way and has given us everything we needed to be successful.
"It's been a great place to raise a family, and we think (Cleveland) will be a great place to raise a family, too."
After graduating from Sewanee in 2009, Pierson spent two years as an assistant at SAA rival Berry College and then returned to Sewanee to work for Smith.
"Bradley has been an integral part of Sewanee basketball as both a player and an assistant coach," Webb said in the hiring release. "For the past five years he has been the chief recruiter and has made invaluable contributions to the program in addition to his abiding commitment to the mission of the university.
"Bradley has a skill set that makes him uniquely qualified to serve as head coach of our men's basketball team. I am confident that the program will continue to thrive under his leadership."
The Tigers have won 79 games the past five years, including 20 this past season.
"I look forward to building on the momentum Coach Smith has created over the past eight years," Pierson said in the Sewanee release. "I appreciate Dr. John McCardell and athletic director Mark Webb for providing me with this unbelievable opportunity.
"I would like to thank Bubba Smith for being an incredible coach, mentor and friend over the past five years."
Pierson has a B.A. degree in economics from Sewanee and a master's from Berry in secondary education.
Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.