refer: For a complete profile of John Smith, see CNFR 3

Jesse Segura said he didn't realize how much of a positive impact John Smith made on the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association until the former contestant became Feather River Community College's rodeo coach.

"When you're a student you come to the rodeo and you've got to do this and that and whatever; you just worry about going out and actually competing," he said. "When you're a coach, you're kind of involved on the (NIRA) board. You get to see all of the things it takes to put on an event like (the College National Finals Rodeo)."

On Friday, Smith made public his intention to retire as NIRA commissioner on Dec. 31. He turns 62 in October. Smith was head of the McNeese State University agriculture department and served as the school's rodeo coach for 16 seasons before taking the reins of the NIRA in July 2001, two years after the CNFR moved to Casper.

"The retirement idea came about probably more so for family reasons," he said. "I've got young grandkids that are growing up. We're a very close family and I want to spend some time with them.

"I do a lot of traveling. I've been burning up in excess of 100,000 miles a year, so I want to stay home a bit and be a burden to everybody at home for a change."

Smith resides in Lake Charles, La.

He said the position will be posted "in the next few days." The NIRA will accept applications until Oct. 1, at which time the NIRA Executive Committee will screen successful applicants. The finalists will be presented to the entire board at the NIRA's winter meetings in December in Las Vegas during the National Finals Rodeo.

Under Smith's leadership, Segura said the NIRA has found a stable home in Casper, built solid local and national sponsorships and placed an increased focus on academics.

"John's legacy will probably be how much he cared about college rodeo," Segura said.

Smith led the charge in 2005 to change eligibility rules for junior college contestants, allowing them to compete for four years instead of three. The caveat was, they had to earn an associate's degree within three years. In the years since, Smith said the NIRA has annually received 15 to 20 requests for a fourth year of eligibility and only turned away one contestant who didn't meet the associate's degree criteria.

"In essence, what we have done is caused them to have achieved one of their degrees and with any kind of luck, by the time they have finished that fourth year they will have their second AA degree," he said. "We took a situation where we would probably lose them completely and turned it into a situation where we gave them a goal."

Dickinson State coach Scott Kleeman, also a former contestant during Smith's watch, isn't concerned about finding a successor to Smith.

"The NIRA's a unique organization," he said. "There's enough people that are associated with this that are already in administrative positions that I think we've got a lot of good candidates."

The NIRA is a college club sport not sanctioned by the NCAA. The association is comprised of 11 regions and overseen by a 22-member board. The board consists of 11 student presidents and 11 regional faculty directors. Contestants are allowed to compete for cash prizes.

Smith will continue as a board member of the NIRA Foundation following his retirement. The foundation raises scholarship money for contestants.

"Whoever the replacement is, I'll be available for conferences or to talk to them to try and help them sort of get adjusted to it through the spring (of 2009).

"One of the very important functions is the CNFR and of course, here in Casper, Wyoming, with the experience of our CNFR committee, by December the CNFR is pretty well in place. … It's a very good time to bring in a new person."