Women's basketball Head Coach Pam Smith '82 shook a few hands and received some pats on the back following the team's 55-39 victory over Kenyon College, Feb. 15. But an appreciative home crowd wouldn't let the her get away that easily. After a modest postgame reception that included a group hug at mid-court from her players, Smith was met at center court at halftime of the ensuing men's basketball game by Director of Athletics and Recreation Garnett Purnell and Springfield Mayor Warren Copeland, where a proclamation was read in her honor.

Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007, will forever be Pam Smith Day in Springfield, Ohio. After all, it's not every day that a collegiate basketball coach reaches 400 career wins.

"I haven't played any of those 400 games," said Smith, whose team finished the season with a 15-11 overall record, including an 11-5 mark in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), good for second place in the final regular season standings. "It has been the great players who have gone through the program and special players and coaches and teams that I have been a part of. Those are the memories that are so special to me."

Smith, who finished the season with a 401-170 career record, became just the 21st active women's basketball coach at the NCAA Division III level to win 400 career games. The seven-time NCAC Coach of the Year and 1999 Athletics Hall of Honor inductee has guided the Tigers to twelve 20-win seasons, eight appearances in the NCA A Division III Tournament and 11 NCAC regular season championships. The Tigers have posted 17 straight winning seasons, and they have never finished lower than third in an NCAC regular season since joining the league in 1989.

— Ryan Maurer