George Smith

Teams coached: Cincinnati Bearcats
Cincinnati record: 154-56 (.733)
Overall record: 154-56 (.733)

1952-1960	Cincinnati
1948-1952	Cincinnati (asst/frosh)

George Smith
Born 1912
Died January 14, 1996
Hometown: Mount Vernon, Ohio
Alma Mater: University of Cincinnati (BA, 1935)
Played four years of football at Cincinnati, lining up as a tackle for the Bearcats
Returned to UC in 1948 to be an assistant football coach but was asked to also coach the freshmen basketball team
- Would also become an assistant under head varsity coach John Wiethe
Promoted to head basketball coach in 1952, leading the Bearcats for the next eight seasons
- Went 154-56 overall, claimed three Missouri Valley titles and reached two NCAA Final Fours
- Best remembered for recruiting and coaching Hall of Famer and consensus NPOY Oscar Robertson
Stepped away from coaching in 1960 to become the athletic director at Cincinnati
- His former assistant, Ed Jucker, replaced him and led the Bearcats to two National Championships and one national runner-up in his first three seasons at the helm (UC went to five straight Final Fours)
- Took over as Assistant VP of Development for the University in 1973 and retired in 1980
- Inducted into the UC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978
Died of cancer in 1996 at the age of 83; survived by his wife, Helen
- The University named the George and Helen Smith Athletics Museum in their honor in 2006