Sonny Smith was hired by East Tennessee State in 1976. He coached the Buccaneers for two seasons before leaving to become the head coach at Auburn. Smith finished with a record of 30–23 while at East Tennessee State.
Auburn
Sonny Smith was hired by Auburn in the summer of 1978 after the recently hired Paul Lambert died in a hotel fire. Smith took the Auburn job despite returning all of his starters from the year before and moving into a new arena at East Tennessee State. Smith guided Auburn to its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 1984, led by future Hall of Fame player Charles Barkley. The Tigers were upset in the First Round, however, by the 12th-seeded Richmond Spiders. Smith was named SEC Coach of the Year following the 1984 season. The 1985 regular season was considered a letdown, with the Tigers going 8–10 in conference play. Before the SEC Tournament, Smith announced his plan to retire at the end of the season. However, Smith and tournament MVP Chuck Person led Auburn to its first ever SEC Tournament championship, winning four games in four days for the first time in tournament history. He then coached that team to the Sweet Sixteen of the 1985 NCAA Tournament. Following this success, and despite receiving an offer from his former school, East Tennessee State, Smith decided to remain at Auburn. Smith would go on to lead the Tigers to three more NCAA Tournament appearances, making it as far as the Elite Eight in 1986. This streak of five straight NCAA Tournament appearances is the longest in Auburn history. Smith was again named SECCoach of the Year following the 1988 season. Following a losing season in 1989, Smith left Auburn to become the head coach at VCU, citing his doubts that he could return Auburn to the success of the previous five seasons. His record at Auburn was 173–154. To date, he is the only coach in Auburn men's basketball history to have three consecutive 20-win seasons.
VCU
Though he did not achieve the level of success that he had while at Auburn, Sonny Smith's tenure at VCU was not without its bright spots. In his fourth season he led the Rams to 20 wins and an invitation to the 1993 NIT. Smith's best season at VCU was his seventh, the 1995–96 season. VCU had just left the struggling Metro Conference to become a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, and Smith led them to success in the new conference immediately. The Rams won both the CAA regular season and tournament championships, earning Smith's only NCAA Tournament bid at VCU. Smith was named CAA Coach of the Year at the end of the season. Smith retired at the end of the 1997–98 season, with his longtime assistant coachMack McCarthy taking over as head coach at VCU. Smith finished at VCU with a record of 136–127, and an overall head coaching record of 339–304.
