Class of 2007
Born: November 15, 1936 in Roan Mountain, Tennessee
Category: Basketball
As Auburn University’s head basketball coach Sonny Smith was named SEC Coach of the Year twice (1984 and 1989). He led his 1984 squad to Auburn’s first NCAA Tournament in school history. The following season, he led the Tigers to their first SEC Tournament Championship in school history. The 1985 squad was also the first team in school history to make it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. His 1986 team went even further in the NCAA Tournament, making the Elite Eight. Smith was the first coach in Auburn history to have a twenty-win season and the only coach in Auburn history to date to have three consecutive twenty-win seasons (1984-1986). He is third all-time in wins at Auburn (173).
