DSF: Tell us more about yourself.
PS: I spent most of my early life in Southeastern Missouri, but my family moved to Birmingham, AL when I was in 8th grade. I knew I wanted to go into the media when I grew up, so after graduating from UAB, I decided to stay in the largest city in the state, where I would have the best opportunity to get a job.
DSF: Looks like you made a good decision. What did you study while an undergraduate at UAB?
PS: I was actually a double major in history and broadcasting. I found myself late in my college career taking a lot of upper level history classes as electives, and it turned out that I had enough of them by the time I was getting close to graduating to declare that as a second major.
DSF: Tell us about your experience in Delta Sigma Phi and how it helped you.
PS: Being a member of the Zeta Chi chapter allowed me to become involved on campus, and it really shaped my life. I met my wife through Delta Sigma Phi, which was a great thing that happened while I was in the Fraternity.
Regarding my involvement, I served as the athletics chairman for three years, and was also the vice president and president during my time in the chapter. I got different skills from all of these positions. As athletics chair, I was always looking for people for the athletic events, and that was interesting in getting people to work together. When I was president, I needed to really oversee the running of the entire house, and I learned a lot about budgeting and operations. They were both great experiences.
DSF: Tell us about your career thus far – you went from intern to executive producer for the Paul Finebaum Radio Network.
PS: I was a television student at UAB, and while an undergrad, I was one of the broadcasters of UAB baseball. In addition, I was the first color commentator for UAB football as well. The local radio station heard my work, and I was able to get an internship with the Paul Finebaum Radio Network, which is a syndicated sports talk program which has a focus on Alabama and Auburn athletics, as those are like our professional teams down here. I have moved up and now serve as executive producer.
DSF: As Executive Producer, what are your responsibilities?
PS: I am in charge of all programming for the daily show, including booking guests, creative writing, and all of the technical aspects of the show. In addition, I really run the 23 station network, which is syndicated through Clear Channel, and manage our relationship with the member stations. I also serve as the fill in host for Paul when he is gone.
In addition to this, I host my own sports talk show on Saturday mornings on our flagship station, WERC in Birmingham.
DSF: You said one of the things you are responsible for is booking guests. Who has been the best guest that you’ve had, and who was the most disappointing?
PS: I have really gotten to know Steve Spurrier, current head coach of the University of South Carolina, pretty well. Other great guests we’ve had include George Foreman, LL Cool J, John McCain and George Will. We mainly talk sports on the show, but if there is something going on that is of interest to our listeners, we will bring on non-sports personalities as well. Through my job, I’ve had the opportunity to meet people like first lady Laura Bush, and other major dignitaries. Probably the most disappointing guest was Charlton Heston.
DSF: Tell us about some of the side work that you do in addition to working for the Paul Finebaum Radio network.
PS: I’ve been able to do some neat stuff, including putting together the pre-game entertainment piece that was played prior to the two Birmingham games in the NCAA Basketball Tournament’s Southeast Regional. Executives of the SEC hear the show everyday, so there are a lot of opportunities for me to do some fun things.
DSF: Tell us about where you want to end up, and what your goals are for the future.
PS: My future is to make sure that we’re on the air today at 2 pm. I have had opportunities to do my own show in the past, but Paul is a good friend and a great guy. I get total fulfillment about what we do on our show. In addition, I have a 3-year old and an 8-year old, and I want to be able to see them grow up.My goals include making the network bigger, and being able to continue entertaining and informing as many people as possible through our show.
DSF: What’s one thing that you learned from your Fraternity experience that you have utilized in your post-graduate days?
PS: I learned organizational skills. Our chapter had 45-50 members at that time, and trying to organize everything was a task. The Fraternity experience also allowed me the opportunity to develop the leadership skills which I use today with my two subordinates. I am very proud of my association with Delta Sigma Phi, and what it has allowed me to do.
DSF: What advice would you give to undergraduate members or other alumni of Delta Sig to be successful?
PS: Enjoy your college experience. Take every opportunity provided by Delta Sigma Phi to get the skills that will help you in your post-graduate careers. Think to yourself, “How can Delta Sigma Phi help me?” If you take advantage of what the Fraternity has to offer, you will be successful.
Pat Smith is the Executive Producer for the Paul Finebaum Radio Network. You can see more about it, and read Pat’s full bio at www.finebaum.com.
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