Athletic competition teaches lessons for life

"Athletics provide a level playing field," says UNI Foundation Board Trustee William S. Smith '73. "When you step out onto that field, or court, or mat, whoever has worked the hardest will prevail."

Smith was elected to the Foundation Board in 1997, but his support for UNI, especially in athletics, is long-standing. He has made a significant contribution to the construction of the outdoor track. He has also established both a basketball and wrestling scholarship.

Smith says his experience and enduring interest in athletics has taught him to be competitive. "I learned to never give up," he explains. "In any game there are mistakes made, incorrect calls, missed opportunities by players and officials. You learn to be mentally tough, to overcome the bad breaks and to always keep trying. You have to bounce back and not take things personally."

Smith's time at UNI--as a basketball player, four-year letterman and senior-year team captain, and as a business education major--was made possible by an athletic scholarship.

"I received a four-year, full scholarship for basketball," he says. "A scholarship was the only way I could go to college. I can't minimize the significance of that opportunity, how important it was for the rest of my life."

After graduation, Smith moved to Denver, CO. He spent three years as a salesman with IBM Corp., then four years as vice president of ENI Corp., an energy investment company. From 1980-86, he was vice president and subsequently president of Sheffield Exploration Co., an independent oil and gas producer. In 1986, he joined 13D Research Inc. in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., an investment research firm, as senior vice president, then spent two years as senior vice president of global marketing at Hoenig & Co. Inc., a New York-based equity trading and execution firm.

In 1992, Smith formed an investment research firm, Wm. Smith & Co., in Denver, CO. He has appeared on CNN and CNBC and has presented a variety of programs to the New York Society of Security Analysts. He has been a guest on RadioWallStreet.com discussing the stock market. Last year, he was named to the Governor's Commission on Science and Technology for Higher Education by Colorado Governor, Bill Owens.

Now living in Englewood, CO, Smith's involvement with UNI is undiminished by distance. "I grew up on a farm in Iowa," he says. "I have great memories of the state and of my years at UNI."

He returns to campus once or twice a year and tries to catch an athletic event, especially basketball.

"When I come to a game," Smith says, "I try to meet the player who has the scholarship that year-to say 'Hi!' I feel a connection."

"The University of Northern Iowa means a lot to me," he continues. "Someone, somewhere, contributed money for the scholarship that I had. In turn, I'd like to provide that same opportunity to other student-athletes and continue to help UNI in any way that I can."