Mia Smith

The all-time victories leader for women’s basketball at Illinois Wesleyan University, head coach Mia Smith will be starting her 11th season at the school in the 2008-09 campaign. In her first 10 seasons, Smith has coached the Titans to a record of 169-94 (.643 winning percentage) and a 92-48 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin record (.657) and was the league’s “Coach of the Year” in 2008.

In her 10 seasons she has coached 20 all-conference selections, including two league “Most Outstanding Players” and she became the school’s all-time win leader with a win on Jan. 20, 2007 at North Park, passing Mandy Neal (135-120 from 1989-98).

In 2007-08, IWU had a 26-3 record, played for the second straight year in the NCAA Division III tournament and enjoyed national rankings throughout the season, reaching a high of No. 5 for two straight weeks in January (USA Today/ESPN poll). The team was 13-1 in winning the CCIW regular season title and also captured the league’s tournament championship. The squad set school season records for wins (26), topping the mark of 22 set a year before; points scored (2,467); 3-pointers made (279) and 3-pointers attempted (805); and field goals made (901). They also had a school-record 16-game win streak.

The 2007-08 Titans also set a pair of team game records (114 points, 37 assists) in a 114-40 win over Milwaukee School of Engineering in the Cal Lutheran Tournament Dec. 29 and, on December 4, IWU (with 18) and Fontbonne (with 9) combined for 27 3-point field goals to set a Division III record. The old mark was 26, set by Cabrini (20) and Rosemount (6) in 1994 and equalled by McMurry (16) and Schreiner (10) in 2007.

In 2006-07, IWU sported a 22-6 record and played in the NCAA Division III tournament. The team set a school record for victories and also set school records for 3-pointers in a game (19 at Emory) and season (247). IWU was ranked nationally throughout the season after opening with a 10-game winning streak, including a victory over eventual national champion DePauw. IWU was ranked as high as No. 10 on Feb. 6.

Smith's 2005-06 team was 19-8 overall (10-4 CCIW) and advanced to the championship game of the CCIW postseason tournament and in 2005, IWU was beaten in the CCIW final by eventual national Division III champion Milikin.

In 2002-03, the Titans were 20-9 and 11-3 in the CCIW, winning both the regular season and tournament championships (the first in women’s basketball at IWU). The Titans also won their first-ever NCAA Division III tournament game after being 0-2 in two previous appearances. Smith was named the 2003 Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Division III co-“Coach of the Year.”

Prior to coming to IWU in 1998, Smith coached (since 1994) volleyball and softball at Division III Monmouth College (Illinois), where her volleyball teams were 55-69 in four seasons and her softball teams were 61-54.

Smith coached basketball and two other sports at Carrollton High School in west central Illinois from 1986 to 1994. Her basketball mark was 156-55 with three consecutive regional and sectional titles and she was twice named IBCA regional “Coach of the Year.” Her 1992 team finished 28-3 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class A state tournament, and her 1993 and 1994 teams both lost in the super-sectional round. In volleyball, Smith’s Carrollton teams were 127-69 with five straight regional titles and her softball teams were 97-54 with three regional championships and two league championships.

A native of Farina, Ill., and graduate of LaGrove High School, Smith earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physical education from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, where she was a four-year letterwinner in basketball and softball. She was the basketball team captain for three seasons and earned “Defensive Player of the Year” honors four times. She was named to the 1983 Dial Classic all-tournament team. A Dean’s List student, she was an SIUE “Scholar-Athlete” and the school’s “Sportsmanship Award” winner in 1986.

Smith also teaches classes in the IWU physical education department.