RADFORD, Va. – A 1998 graduate of Radford University and a former Sports Information intern, Marty Smith received the Alumni Award from the College of Humanities & Behavioral Sciences (CHBS) over Homecoming Weekend.
 
"Marty, as ESPN viewers know, is an absolute force of nature," said Radford Athletics Hall of Famer and mentor, Mike Ashley '83. "He has a unique voice in sports and he's more talented as a writer than most people realize, such a great storyteller."
 
The CHBS Advisory Board Selection Committee was formed to recognize a Radford University graduate who has given back to the University and/or has distinguished life's work. Nominees for the award, of which there was record-breaking number of this year, must meet the following criteria for consideration:
 

1. Alumni with consistent records of engagement and support for CHBS and/or Radford in general.
2. Alumni with high profiles and/or who have been transformational leaders in their communications, and/or have distinguished professional careers.
3. Alumni who have consistently committed to assisting Radford students.

 
"I love this place so much, and so many people have done so much for me here, and the number one thing that I got here at Radford was not just a beautiful education, it was true wisdom on the power of belief," Smith said. "So often in this life, that's all we need. We need someone who can look at us and believe. And that infuses us with self-confidence, and then we become indomitable in the quest for what we want."

Smith is one of ESPN's most popular and recognized reporters and hosts who currently covers a variety of sports including college football, basketball, both the NFL and NBA, NASCAR and others. Smith's features and reporting are often seen on ESPN platforms including SportsCenter and ESPN.com. Smith, who joined ESPN in 2006, launched his own show Marty Smith's America in August 2017 on ESPN2.
 
Some of sport's biggest names including Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, Major Golf champion Rory McIlroy and Oklahoma City's Paul George have sat down with Smith for his show in addition to stars outside of sports including music artist Sam Hunt. Smith has also traveled the world for various features including his trip to Rome with Coach Jim Harbaugh and the University of Michigan football team where he spent a week following the team as they saw the sites of Italy.
 
In addition to hosting Marty Smith's America, Smith co-hosts the popular radio show Marty and McGee on SEC Network and ESPN Radio. Smith also guest-hosted SEC Network's traveling college football show, SEC Nation, during Fall 2019.
 
From 2007-2014, Smith was ESPN's lead NASCAR reporter for both SportsCenter and the former NASCAR Now program. In addition to reporting for SportsCenter and writing news and features for ESPN.com, Smith also contributed to ESPN's NASCAR event television coverage, which ended at the conclusion of the 2014 season, with numerous unique features and extensive, in-depth, and revealing interviews with nearly every top driver in the sport.
 
Prior to joining ESPN, Smith covered sports for daily newspapers in Roanoke and Lynchburg, Va., before joining NASCAR.com. As a Radford student, he worked in the Sports Information office throughout the mid-to-late 90's for notable SID's such as Rick Rogers, Mike Ashley, and Chris King.
 
"He has represented Radford University so well on a national stage, showing what our broad-based liberal arts education, small class-size, social interaction and chance to get hands-on experience as an undergrad, can produce," added Ashley. "And the thing I love telling people that ask me about Marty -- yep, he's just like what you see on TV!"