“Where in the timeline do we rebrand the school to the Long Beach Aztecs,” Teed Up host Naoki Gima said.
The ties between Long Beach State and San Diego State have grown even more over the past month with the recent hiring of new men’s basketball head coach Chris Acker. He joins Athletic Director Bobby Smitheran after their shared tenure at San Diego State.
The former Aztecs joined hosts Naoki Gima and Matthew Gomez for season three, episode 12 of Teed Up to discuss the outlook and direction of the basketball program. Smitheran gave his perspective of an active couple of months for Long Beach State Athletics.
From the surprise departure of a storied alumni in Tyler Hildebrand to the dismissal of 17-year men’s basketball coach Dan Monson ahead of a run to the NCAA tournament, Smitheran has been put in critical decision-making positions throughout his first year at LBSU.
“When I took this job, I knew there were certain personnel situations that I was taking on, so I came into this fully aware of what I was stepping into,” Smitheran said.
He indicated how Hildebrand’s sudden exit was not at all on his radar after taking the women’s volleyball team to the inaugural Big West Championship game in his second season as head coach. Hildebrand signed a five-year contract in December of 2021.
“I was really going to take the first six months of this job to listen and observe. At the end of the day, I’m the athletic director and I’m thrust into certain situations that require you to make decisions,” Smitheran said.
A month later, a more anticipated and monitored topic of Monson in the last year of his contract was addressed abruptly, three days ahead of the Big West tournament.
After closing an inconsistent regular season out with a five-game losing streak, the university announced they would be parting ways with Monson after the season. The announcement seemingly sparked one of the most improbable runs to the team’s first Big West championship title since 2012.
During an interview with the Associated Press ahead of The Beach’s first-round matchup with Arizona, a quote from Smitheran reached national tabloids amidst the coverage of LBSU’s unconventional journey to the tournament.
“I’m not trying to pat myself on the back, but it worked,” Smitheran said. The quote received significant backlash across social media. He admitted it was concerning considering how big of a storyline it became.
“Certainly my goal in that whole experience was not to be a part of that storyline,” Smitheran said. “That the focus was on their achievement.”
The aftermath of the coaching change has left The Beach with major voids in its roster, with four prominent contributors entering the transfer portal.
“I think anytime there’s a coaching transition, you should anticipate that the entire team likely will enter the portal,” Smitheran said. “These days it’s a way for them to identify where their opportunities are, what’s their value, what’s their worth?”
The decision to hire a familiar face in Acker came following a “full national search.”
“You want to surround yourself with like-minded people who share the same vision, the same philosophy and they’re people you can trust,” Smitheran said.
He also noted how he believes the position of head men’s basketball coach at Long Beach State is the premier position in the Big West Conference.
“I’m going to entrust that with somebody that I respect. Who has the same vision and alignment and certainly identifying someone who came from a championship culture was paramount to me,” Smitheran said.