By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

Northern Arizona University Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Marlow has announced that Director of Cross Country & Track and Field Mike Smith will be stepping down from his duties following the 2024-25 school to pursue professional coaching opportunities.

"My wife Rachel and I want to express gratitude for the amazing NAU community we have been a part of," Smith said in a statement released by NAU.

"We received unyielding support from past President Rita Cheng and current President José Luis Cruz Rivera. Lastly, our success would have been impossible without the guidance and leadership of Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics, Mike Marlow."

It's been reported by Runner's World that Smith is expected to become a Nike Coach and will still be based in Flagstaff working with Nike professional runners.

Smith is currently coaching other professional athletes who represent other brands, including Nikki Hiltz (Lululemon), Nico Young (adidas), Luis Grijalva (Hoka) and his wife, Rachel Smith (Hoka). Smith will still be able to coach those athletes.

Smith has been coaching Nike athletes like Abdihamid Nur, Woody Kincaid and Galen Rupp.

After joining the staff as an assistant in 2016, Smith took over for former head coach Eric Heins in 2017 and has since guided the NAU men and women to a vast amount of success, including five cross country national titles on the men's side and 35 Big Sky Conference Championships between the men's and women's programs.

Along with team success, Smith has earned several accolades over the years, including being named Big Sky Coach of Year 34 times and named the Bill Dellinger award winner for the National Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year five times.

Current associate head coach of distance and mid-distance, Jarred Cornfield, will step into the director role starting July of 2025.

"I've worked side-by-side with Mike Smith for eight years and I'll forever be grateful for his mentorship, leadership and belief in me," Cornfield said. "He is truly one of the best ever to coach in the NCAA and I'm excited to celebrate him and work hard in this final year working together as Lumberjacks."