COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Joel Smith, a former athletic director at Chadron State College and a former commissioner of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), has been announced as a member of the 2025 RMAC Hall of Fame Class, the league office revealed on Wednesday. 

STORY (RMAC): 2025 RMAC Hall of Fame Class Announced 

The 2025 RMAC Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held in Colorado Springs at 6 p.m. MT on Thursday, July 10 at the Colorado Springs Marriott, with doors opening at 5 p.m. Tickets will be available in the upcoming days at RMACSports.org/Tickets.

Smith served as Chadron State's athletic director from 2013-2024. Prior to that, he worked at multiple institutions across the conference as the Director of Athletic Development and Assistant Director of Athletics at Metropolitan State University Denver (1985-1996) and the Director of Athletics at Fort Lewis College (1996-2001) before serving as the RMAC Commissioner from 2001-2013. As commissioner, Smith was responsible for management and operations of the league's 15 institutions and championship events. He also implemented the RMAC Hall of Fame, which inducted its first members in 2002.
 
Smith was also active within the NCAA, serving on the regional advisory committees for football, baseball and men's basketball. He was the chair of the NCAA West Regional Baseball Committee as well as a member of the Division II Championships Committee and the D-II Television Task Force. Additionally, Smith served as the vice president of the Division II Collegiate Commissioners Association and president of the Colorado Chapter of the National Football Foundation.

During his tenure, Smith oversaw both the construction of the Chicoine Center, which houses CSC's basketball and volleyball teams, and renovations to the football facility at Elliott Field at Don Beebe Stadium. Smith was the sixth athletic director in Chadron State history and the fourth commissioner in RMAC history. 

The rest of the 2025 RMAC Hall of Fame class alongside Smith includes coach Debbie Hendricks (MSU Denver, volleyball), student-athletes Hayley Hollenga (Fort Lewis, women's soccer/women's basketball), Brandon Jefferson (MSU Denver, men's basketball), Ryan Jensen (CSU Pueblo, football), and Lori Moreno Roch (Western Colorado, women's track), as well as the 2014 national champion CSU Pueblo football team.