Meet Eric Smith, executive director of Auburn University Recreation and Wellness

You can’t miss him. A crown of long red hair and the stomp of his cowboy boots are a tell-tale sign that someone fun is coming down the hall at the Auburn University Recreation and Wellness Center. Eric Smith, executive director of Recreation and Wellness, is as gregarious as he looks and possesses the unique combo of leadership and openness Auburn students need. His goal: take care of students and empower them to take responsibility for themselves and their communities.

“I try not to take myself too seriously,” Smith said, laughing. The father of three is appropriately humble, but clearly dedicated. “What we do can be amazing for the people who come through our doors.”

Smith and his team take a holistic approach to health and wellness on campus by integrating recreational activities and health promotion initiatives to support the physical, mental and emotional well-being of Auburn community members. With a 240,000-square-foot recreation center in the hub of campus, that translates into easily accessible health and wellness programs such as group fitness, intramural sports, club sports, outdoor adventure experiences, climbing, Olympic/Powerlifting and personal training.

“We really have the ability to change an individual's life for the better through health ed programming, whether that’s through intramurals, or just coming in and walking the track,” he said. “We know that mental health is tied to physical health. Students tell us that coming to the rec center helps with their anxiety, helps with their depression, helps create a sense of community and a sense of belonging.”

Get Out and Play

Intramurals and club level sports are just one way students can find a community through Auburn Recreation and Wellness, and it’s a popular choice. Intramural participation grew by 40% in the past year.

“If you and your buddies want to play soccer against other people, we have a league for that and can get you connected. Pickleball more your speed? We can help connect you to the club team and we offer IM tournaments,” Smith said. “Our club level sports require a bit more time commitment and offer a higher level of competition. More than 1,000 athletes at Auburn are participating in our club sports and competing across the Southeast and in national competitions.”

Rugby, lacrosse, hockey, soccer, water skiing, cycling, and even bass fishing are recruiting students through Health and Wellness. “We fill a huge competitive hole for lots of athletes in intramural and club sports. Come find your team,” Smith said.

Supporting Students, Helping them Move On

Auburn Recreation and Wellness also plays a vital role in combating substance abuse. Smith is uniquely poised to help address these issues. Before joining Auburn in 2010, Smith was the coordinator for drug and alcohol prevention at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

“Substance use is a problem on every single college campus in America. Some people take it a little too far and get in trouble.” Smith said. “Hopefully, that one mistake a student may make is something we can work through, get past and learn from.”

Recreation and Wellness has a host of substance use programs to help students. The aim is to support struggling students and help get them involved in positive activities.

“We are trying to prevent bad behavior through being a good human,” Smith explains. “People are gonna make mistakes, but we can do a lot to prevent that from happening just by looking out for each other. Be a good bystander. If you see a friend who’s had one too many, make sure that that person gets home safely. Help make sure Saturday night ends with good memories and not regrets.”

Get REC’D

Students can meet Smith and learn how to get involved in campus recreation and wellness Aug. 16 from 5-7 p.m. at the annual Get Rec’d event during Welcome Week.

“Get Rec’d is the best thing you’ll do on the first day of class,” Smith promised. “We'll have fun prizes, activities, games and T-shirts, and our programmers and our facilities folks are in the building to share about what they do and interview students for jobs.”

The Recreation and Wellness Center is one of the main student employers on campus. Students have the opportunity to work in a variety of areas from membership, communications and marketing, refereeing intramural teams and leading outdoor trips. While many jobs are filled, there are still jobs available to students.

“And there’s free food,” Smith said. “Get Rec’d is really about getting people in the door so they can see ways they can get involved. I just want people to come and take a chance on something we have to offer them here.”

Smith is hard to miss and more than willing to take the time to chat with folks who want to get involved. His advice to those on the fence: “Come on down to the Rec, take a lap on the track, check it all out and be part of the community we're trying to build down here.”