Steve Smiley - Head Men's Basketball Coach - Men's Basketball Coaches - University of Northern Colorado Athletics

Photo by: Ryan Pfeifer

Steve Smiley

Title:
Head Men's Basketball Coach
Email:
stephen.smiley@unco.edu
Phone:
970.351.2983

Steve Smiley became the 20th head coach in Northern Colorado men's basketball history in March 2020 and has since established himself as the winningest coach in the program’s Division I era.

Smiley owns the second-highest winning percentage in the program’s DI era and has guided the Bears to four postseason appearances in his first five years, holding the record for most postseason wins in school history with eight. Since his arrival in Greeley, 15 former Bears have gone on to professional basketball careers, including 11 during his head coaching tenure.

The 2024-25 campaign marked a historic breakthrough for Northern Colorado, as Smiley led the Bears to a share of the Big Sky regular season championship and the program’s first-ever berth in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). UNC finished 25-10, the second-most wins in program history, while posting a .714 winning percentage, the ninth-best in school history and second-best in the DI era. The Bears also tied a program-best with 15 Big Sky wins.

Smiley’s squad finished in the top 50 nationally in eight statistical categories, including first in field goal percentage (50.7%) and fourth in effective field goal percentage (58%). UNC’s dominance carried into postseason play, where they advanced to the Big Sky Championship Game before earning the NIT bid. The 25-win season pushed Smiley to the top of UNC’s Division I coaching wins list.

In 2023-24, Smiley guided a reshaped roster to a 19-14 record and the program’s second College Basketball Invitational (CBI) appearance in four years. The Bears’ 19 wins ranked sixth-most in program history and fifth-most in the Division I era, highlighting Smiley’s ability to reload and compete at a high level despite losing eight rotation players from the previous season.

Smiley has now produced over 10 All-Big Sky selections and three 1,000-point scorers. His student-athletes have earned honors ranging from Big Sky First Team to NABC All-District recognition, including recent standouts Dalton Knecht, Daylen Kountz, Saint Thomas, Langston Reynolds, Isaiah Hawthorne, and Jaron Rillie.

The 2022-23 season featured one of the nation’s toughest schedules, with the Bears defeating Colorado State in Fort Collins for the first time since 2015 and producing the Big Sky’s scoring leader in Dalton Knecht (20.2 ppg).

In 2021-22, Smiley led UNC to 22 wins, the third-most in program history, and a trip to the Big Sky title game before advancing to the CBI semifinals. Daylen Kountz earned unanimous First Team All-Big Sky and national All-District recognition after finishing 10th in the NCAA in scoring (21.2 ppg).

In his debut 2020-21 season, Smiley navigated COVID-19 disruptions while still guiding multiple Bears to All-Big Sky honors.

Before taking over as head coach, Smiley spent four years as UNC’s associate head coach, helping lead the Bears to an 80-50 record, a CIT championship in 2018, and three straight 20-win seasons.

Smiley's experience in the Big Sky goes beyond his four years at UNC as he was an assistant coach at Weber State from 2014-16. The Wildcats won 39 games in those two years and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2016 by winning the Big Sky Tournament.

Before Weber State, Smiley spent six years as the head coach and Athletic Director at Sheridan College, a national junior college powerhouse in Sheridan, Wyoming.

In the six years with the Generals, Smiley posted a 153-43 overall record and led Sheridan to four North Sub-Region 9 titles and two runner-up finishes. His teams also advanced to the Region 9 Final Four on four occasions and appeared in two championship games. Smiley was twice named the North Region Coach of the Year.

During his time at Sheridan, Smiley had 21 players sign to play NCAA Division I basketball and 38 players moved on to play at four-year colleges. He coached two players who earned NJCAA All-American honors and nine players who earned All-Region honors. Several players went on to play professional basketball across the world.

Prior to his stint at Sheridan, Smiley spent two seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota where he collaborated with the winningest coach in NCAA history, Don Meyer. During his time at NSU, the Wolves posted a 50-12 record. Smiley was also the assistant head coach at Black Hills State University during the 2005-06 season.

Smiley began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M International during the 2004-05 campaign.

A native of Denver, Smiley graduated from Northern State in 2004. He was a three-year starter with the Wolves and led the Northern Sun league in assists for three straight seasons. He ranks second in NSU history in career assists with 537. As a senior, he was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year and the league tournament MVP. He helped lead the team to a 24-7 record and a trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament.

He played high school basketball at Pomona High School in Arvada, Colorado, where he was a four-year starter and earned All-State honors twice while graduating as his class valedictorian. He also led the state of Colorado in assists during his junior season.