“Athletics is important. They affect many people,” Smartt said, referencing a recent interview of Swinney in a speech to the Dothan-Houston County Rotary Club Tuesday. “How we play is important. How we act is important … but success is not always on the scoreboard.
“That’s what we’re measured on, but in his mind success goes deeper into how (players) represent themselves and how they represent their university and did they make their people proud.”
Smartt knows firsthand wins and losses do matter, especially for a tradition-rich program like Troy baseball’s. Smartt first won two national championships with Troy as a player in 1986 and 1987 then served as Bobby Pierce’s assistant during the recently retired coach’s tenure, which registered 450 wins in 13 seasons.