AUBURN, Ala. – Audra Smith, a 28-year veteran in collegiate coaching, has joined the Auburn women’s basketball staff as Director of Women’s Basketball Community Engagement.
“We are so excited to have Audra Smith join us on the Plains,” Auburn head coach Larry Vickers said. “Her vast experience as a Division I head coach, her service with the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, and her strong ties to the state of Alabama make her the best person to help Auburn women’s basketball move the needle in many areas. She will be a tremendous asset to our program and our community.”
Smith comes to Auburn after serving as vice president of Play4Kay at the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
"I am beyond excited to join Coach Larry Vickers’ staff as the Director of Community Engagement,” Smith said. “It is an honor and a privilege to be a part of the Auburn University family. I look forward to working alongside Coach LV and his amazing staff. I am ready to hit the ground running and immerse myself in the wonderful Auburn community to interact and share the excitement about this new era of Auburn Women's Basketball."
Smith has 18 years of head coaching experience at the Division I level along with 10 seasons as an assistant. Her last coaching stop came at South Carolina State, where she served as head coach for four seasons from 2018-22. She also spent five seasons as head coach at Clemson (2013-18) and nine years as head coach at UAB (2004-13).
During her time at UAB, the Blazers went 57-39 over her last three seasons and had winning records in Conference USA play in the last four seasons. The Blazers won the WBI Tournament title in 2010-11 and earned two bids to the WNIT. While leading the Blazers, Smith had three players win CUSA Player of the Year honors.
Prior to her first head coaching job, she was an assistant at the University of Virginia, her alma mater, from 1994 to 2004. The team reached the NCAA Tournament in nine of those 10 seasons. She was named recruiting coordinator in 2000 and helped secure four top-20 classes in five seasons.
As a student-athlete at Virginia from 1988 to 1992, she helped the Cavaliers to a 113-18 record over four seasons with three trips to the Final Four and two ACC Championships.
A native of Milledgeville, Georgia, she graduated from Virginia with a degree in sociology. She is married to former Virginia men’s basketball player Anthony Oliver, and the couple has a son, A.J., and a daughter, Adria.