In the third edition of our Valero Alamo Bowl Spotlight Series, we’re proud to feature Darnell Smith, Alamo City native and Director of Athletics at Texas A&M University–San Antonio.
His full circle journey is rooted in pride, perseverance, and community impact as he went from Taft High School, to playing for Oklahoma State in the 2004 Valero Alamo Bowl, to launching a collegiate athletics program in his hometown.
“San Antonio is my home, first and foremost,” Darnell said. “It is where I was raised. My father was in the Air Force, so I was raised right there on Lackland Air Force Base.”
He played youth football on the city’s northwest side and went on to star at Taft High School, leading the team to a state championship appearance. “We weren’t picked to do much of anything, and yet, here is this Taft team,” he said. “We went on to beat the giants, if you will, like the Pearlands and the Judsons.”
That senior season helped earn Darnell a scholarship to Oklahoma State. Just a few years later, he returned home to San Antonio, this time as a starter in the 2004 MasterCard Alamo Bowl.
“It was an incredible feeling,” Darnell said. “To be able to bring my coaches from Taft, to know that I’m from here and I’m playing on this big stage. Every time they said ‘Darnell Smith’ and anytime they mentioned my high school it just got me emotional, and made me feel very, very proud to be from the city and to represent the city.”
Even an in-game shoulder injury couldn’t dampen the moment. “Just being out there and playing against those guys was a lot of fun,” he said. “In spite of the injury, it’s one of those things knowing my family was in the crowd and knowing that I got a chance to contribute was all worth it.”
After graduating, Darnell set his sights on a new kind of playing field: college athletics administration. “I wanted to have an impact on future leaders and future student-athletes the way that the administration had an impact on me,” he said. “I want to help people graduate. I want to help people achieve their goals and their dreams.”
That passion eventually led him back home once again—this time to build the athletics program at Texas A&M–San Antonio from the ground up.
“I didn’t know about Texas A&M San Antonio until five years ago,” he said. “Come to find out that it was only ten years young at the time, and they didn’t have athletics initially. And I said, ‘You can’t be a Texas A&M system school in San Antonio and not have athletics.’ I predict that they’re going to have athletics.” A year later, the AD position posted, so Darnell applied, and “the rest is history,” as he puts it.
Launching a full athletics program during a pandemic wasn’t easy. “My budget comes from fundraising, and from the athletic fee, but the athletic fee wasn’t even started yet,” he explained. “No one even knows that we exist. So, we did everything we could to get the brand out there.”
Despite the challenges, the program has rapidly grown from two sports and 31 student-athletes to six sports and 130 student-athletes in under five years. “The first basketball game that we had, our facility seats 900 people and there was probably 1,300 people in that gym,” he said. “That’s just a testament to the power of sport for the community and our athletics department.”
New facilities funded in part by a $10 million investment from Bexar County are already under construction. “We believe in the power of sports to be able to transform people’s lives and improve the quality of their life and their wellbeing,” he said.
Darnell also sees the connection between his work and the Valero Alamo Bowl’s continued scholarship investment in students at every San Antonio area high school and four-year university. Last year, 16 Texas A&M University-San Antonio students received bowl scholarships.
“The scholarships are a testament to who you all are, what you do, and the impact that you have on these individuals’ lives so that they can go on to be able to achieve their dreams,” he said. “You’ve helped fill my mission which is building champions on the field, academically, and in the community.”
From the Alamodome spotlight to leading a movement for college athletics in San Antonio, Darnell Smith’s journey is a powerful example of paying it forward, and proving that hometown pride is more than just a feeling. “This is my home, so I get it. I know what it means to use sport and the impact it can have in a community.”
To read the entire interview transcript, please click here. Note: interview transcript has been edited for length and clarity.