Staff Directory
- Title:
- Senior Associate Athletic Director, Brand Advancement
Chief Marketing Officer
- Email:
Matt Smith joined Pitt Athletics as the senior associate athletic director for brand advancement & chief marketing officer in June of 2025. Smith is responsible for the comprehensive oversight, strategy and execution of all brand and marketing-related functions within the athletics department and directly manages the Panthers’ marketing, licensing and retail units.
Smith joined the University of Pittsburgh following a four-year stint in the SEC at Ole Miss joining the Rebels as an associate director of marketing and fan experience in 2021 before being promoted to assistant athletic director of marketing and fan experience in 2023. During his final two years in Oxford, he provided strategic direction, supervision, and leadership to a seven-member marketing and fan experience department, while also directing strategic revenue efforts within the unit and collaborating with external and internal departments to increase revenue and fan engagement at Ole Miss.
Smith led a football ticket sales strategy that drove a 21.6% increase in ticket revenue from the 2023 to 2024 seasons by capturing the fan experience at events and optimizing digital engagement to boost conversions. He also coordinated and produced all home football games, while overseeing men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, and softball strategic marketing efforts over his final two years at Ole Miss.
From 2021 to 2023, Smith led men’s basketball and women’s volleyball marketing, fan experience, and ticket sales efforts for the Rebels.
Smith began his journey in college athletics in East Lansing, Mich., working in the Michigan State marketing department as an undergraduate. Upon graduation in 2016, he was hired at his alma mater as a marketing assistant working with the men’s ice hockey, women’s volleyball, baseball, men’s and women’s soccer, and wrestling programs.
After earning a master of science, sports administration degree from Michigan State in 2018, Smith spent six-months in minor league baseball as the manager of fan engagement and community relations with the Lansing Lugnuts.
He returned to Michigan State as an assistant director of marketing and was responsible for improving the in-venue experience for all assigned sports, specifically men’s basketball, from 2018-2021. Smith also collaborated and communicated with multi-media rights holder, Fox Sports Properties, to lead and organize all corporate activations and promotions for home football, basketball and hockey games for the Spartans.
Smith resides in Wexford with his wife, Kristin, and their dog, Izzy.
