Craig Smith

Craig Francis Smith (born December 14, 1972) is an American college basketball coach who was most recently the head coach for the Utah Utes men's team of the Big 12 Conference until 2025. He served as an assistant for Tim Miles at four schools – Mayville State, North Dakota State, Colorado State, and Nebraska. Smith was also the head coach at Mayville State from 2004 to 2007, at South Dakota from 2014 to 2018, and at Utah State from 2018 to 2021.

Early life and education Born in Stephen, Minnesota, Smith graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in secondary education and Northern State University in South Dakota with a master's degree in education in 1999.

Coaching career

Beginnings as assistant coach (1996–2004) Smith began his coaching career in 1996 as an assistant coach for one season at Mayville State University, an NAIA school in North Dakota. This was the first of several coaching roles under Tim Miles.

In 1997, Smith enrolled in graduate school at Northern State, an NCAA Division II school in South Dakota, and became a graduate assistant with its men's basketball team. Returning to North Dakota, Smith was an assistant coach at Minot State from 1998 to 2001. With a 27–9 record in Smith's final season 2006–07, Mayville State won both DAC titles again and made the championship round of the NAIA tournament as a no. 13 seed. Smith won NAIA Division II Coach of the Year honors in 2007 and DAC Coach of the Year Honors in 2006 and 2007. Miles promoted Smith to a full assistant coach in 2008. Smith helped Nebraska make the 2014 NCAA tournament. Following a 12–18 season in 2013–14, South Dakota went 17–16 (10–8 in Summit League play) in Smith's first season of 2014–15. In 2016–17, Smith won Summit League Coach of the Year honors after South Dakota won the Summit League regular season title and qualified for the 2017 NIT. In just his first season at the school, he led the Aggies to a share of the Mountain West regular-season title, as well as the tournament title. This performance earned them their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2011. The team repeated as Mountain West tournament champions in 2020, though the NCAA tournament was cancelled amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Smith earned his third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance with the Aggies with an at-large bid.

Utah (2021–2025) Smith was hired to be the new head coach of the Utah Utes men's basketball team on March 27, 2021. He was fired on February 24th, 2025. He finished with a 65–62 overall record.

Head coaching record

2020 NCAA Tournament cancelled