Ric Smith is an Auburn University professor and the Director of Experiential Learning for the Auburn Department of Communication and Journalism. In addition to teaching classes, he coordinates and supervises undergraduate internships. He is also the faculty advisor for WEGL radio and Eagle Eye television. When he’s not busy with all of that, he’s the voice you hear at every home Auburn football game. He is Jordan-Hare’s official announcer.

Ric Smith is no newcomer to standing behind a microphone. He’s worked numerous jobs for radio stations like ESPN radio, ABC radio, WEGL and many others as a DJ and an announcer. Having grown up an Auburn fan from Fairfax, AL, Smith spent Saturdays at Auburn football games through his childhood. It wasn’t until he returned to Auburn University for graduate school that he started his Auburn announcing career.

He started out announcing high school football games in Opelika. Sometime after that he began announcing the Auburn baseball games and continued with that for five years. During this time, Auburn football fans were still following the voice of Carl Stephens, who served as Jordan-Hare’s announcer for 30 years. When he finally decided to step down in 2005, Smith was an obvious choice.

Smith’s first Auburn football game announcing was the A-Day game in March 2006. This coming season will Smith fourth year as Jordan-Hare’s PA announcer.

If you’re not sure what exactly an announcer does, his responsibilities include making a number of announcements and introductions prior to the game. During the game, he does things like announces scores from other college games going on that day. Most importantly though, he helps fans stay updated on what is happening on the field with a play-by-play. It's his job to make announcements that make fans aware of who’s playing and what’s actually happening on the field.

Smith considers it an honor to be following Steven’s footsteps. While some may look at him as a replacement, he doesn’t see it that way. He thinks of it more as stepping in front of a long-lasting legend. Smith considers Stevens to be one of the best PA announcers and he only hopes to live up to the standard he created.


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