When Nicole Smith took the reins of the University of Arkansas at Monticello Cotton Blossoms volleyball program as the first head coach in program history, she made it clear that she did not intend to take her time putting a winner on the court. Most new programs spend one year as a designated "club sport" prior to beginning actual competition, but the Cotton Blossoms took to the hardwood just three months after Smith¹s arrival on the UAM campus and posted a respectable 9-18 record that first year.

This past season, Smith built on that success and took the Cotton Blossoms to the Gulf South Conference tournament, posting a 17-15 record and letting opponents know along the way that despite the youth of the program, the Cotton Blossoms would be a contender.

This year, Smith will try to build on the successes of the program's first two years, returning six players from last year's squad and bringing in a talented cast of newcomers as the Cotton Blossoms try to jump from being respectable in 2005 to competitive in 2006.

Smith joined the UAM staff in May 2005 after spending 2004 as the head coach at Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas. Prior to her time at Hill, Smith served as the head coach at Blinn College from 1998-2003, qualifying for the NJCAA Region XIV Tournament every season during her tenure.

Over the past three seasons, Smith has coached eight all-conference players, ten all-region players, and in 2002, led Blinn College to a runner-up finish in the District G Region XIV National Qualifier Tournament.

Smith also served as an assistant coach at Lee College from 1994-95, and at Francis Marion in 1993. Smith¹s first head coaching experience came at the club level, as she guided the Lake Houston Club squad in 1994-95, the Texas A&M Club squad in 1996, and the Hurricane Club Volleyball Association team in 1996-97.

A native of Baytown, Texas, she is a graduate of Ross S. Sterling High School. Smith played two years at Lee College before transferring to Francis Marion, where she graduated in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in political science.

Smith comes from a family that traditionally has had a heavy involvement in sports. Her father, Dick, is the director of athletics and former head baseball coach at Galveston College and was also a scout in the Florida Marlins organization, while her brother Brett played baseball at Rice University and in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization.