Smith’s State Ties Led to Hall of Fame Career
July 29, 2021 | Athletics, Joel Coleman
Architect and MSU alum Janet Marie Smith heads into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame with Bulldog roots.
There are moments as a college student when you simply have to have a break.
When Janet Marie Smith was in architecture school at Mississippi State back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, her getaway was only steps from the studio.
"We would just sneak out every afternoon on Fridays and go sit out at Dudy Noble Field and watch a few innings of baseball," Smith recounted.
It's funny how life shakes out. The Jackson native and product of Callaway High School didn't know it at the time, but sports – specifically the designing of sports venues – would soon become Smith's calling card.
About four decades since Smith would sneak over to watch the Diamond Dawgs, she's set to be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame this weekend. Smith is actually a part of the Class of 2020, but her induction was delayed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Once finally enshrined, it'll be a celebration of a career that has impacted cities and touched lives around the globe.
"I am just humbled, and almost embarrassed, by [getting inducted]," Smith said. "A sports hall of fame is just legendary. It's so full of sports figures and athletes and athletic directors and coaches who have meant so much to various sports. What I do, it's so not that. I feel kind of sheepish even being included in their company."
Despite any personal hesitancy, there's no denying this is very much a deserved honor for Smith. Her handprints are on some of the most legendary sports facilities from coast to coast, and beyond.
Smith, a 1981 MSU graduate, is currently the Executive Vice President for Planning and Development for the Los Angeles Dodgers. She's overseen large-scale improvements at Dodger Stadium, as well as at the club's baseball home in the Dominican Republic.
Smith's path to Hollywood was paved by stops all around Major League Baseball. There was her standard-setting work for the Baltimore Orioles as she helped with the design and construction of Camden Yards. She was directly involved with the renovation of Boston's Fenway Park. Smith worked with the Atlanta Braves to help transform the 1996 Olympic Stadium into Turner Field and also in Atlanta, oversaw the development of what is now State Farm Arena, the home of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.
Smith has been at the forefront of numerous other projects as well. So the logical question is, out of everything, what's been Smith's favorite to work on?
"They're all like your children," Smith said. "You just can't pick a favorite one."
Smith does admit she has a fondness for improving what she terms the "ugly ducklings" into "beautiful swans". One such project was the renovating of Ed Smith Stadium – the spring training home of the Orioles down in Sarasota, Florida.
Smith also had at least a fingertip in the cathedral that is the new Dudy Noble Field at Mississippi State. Now to hear Smith tell it, her impact on the current home of MSU baseball was minimal. She says any credit given to her for the project would be misplaced. Nonetheless, there was at least a small degree of input, dating back to before a single clump of dirt was moved.
"I came to Starkville back before the project even became alive and [former athletic director Scott Stricklin] invited me to come and walk around and just think about what it could be," Smith said. "How could we transform Dudy Noble into something that felt current and responding to today's needs?"
Wier Boerner Allin Architecture was the firm chosen to bring the new Dudy Noble to life, but even still, the group included Smith.
"Michael [Boerner of Wier Boerner Allin] had me look at their drawing a few times, but I didn't have any long-term role," Smith said. "I was happy just to be a cheerleader."
With Smith's resume, it'd have been tough to not utilize her brilliant mind. And to think, for everything that mind has helped build, the foundation of it all was laid right here in the Magnolia State and ran through Mississippi State University.
"I'm so fond of saying I'm a product of the Mississippi public school system all the way through," Smith said.
From MSU classrooms to those Friday evenings at the ballpark watching the Bulldogs, Smith is forever thankful for the maroon and white portion of her roots and how Starkville shaped her ultimate path.
"When I came to architecture school, I really had no idea what I was going to do with that degree," Smith said. "I learned not to feel restricted. That architecture wasn't defined as just designing a building. You could apply that degree to a whole host of things from project management to city building."
Mississippi State gave Smith other lessons as well. She took her elective courses in communications. That gave Smith another new perspective.
"I learned how to communicate to a broader public, whether it's a city council or owners or baseball players because of those courses I took at the journalism school," Smith said.
Lastly, Smith credits Mississippi State for helping her learn how to have fun. She always looked forward to those Dudy Noble Fridays. It just so happened, it was those very ballgames foreshadowing how Smith's life would ultimately play out.
"I thought watching baseball was totally separate from my personal pursuits," Smith said. "You just never know how those things are going to come together."
When Janet Marie Smith was in architecture school at Mississippi State back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, her getaway was only steps from the studio.
"We would just sneak out every afternoon on Fridays and go sit out at Dudy Noble Field and watch a few innings of baseball," Smith recounted.
It's funny how life shakes out. The Jackson native and product of Callaway High School didn't know it at the time, but sports – specifically the designing of sports venues – would soon become Smith's calling card.
About four decades since Smith would sneak over to watch the Diamond Dawgs, she's set to be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame this weekend. Smith is actually a part of the Class of 2020, but her induction was delayed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Once finally enshrined, it'll be a celebration of a career that has impacted cities and touched lives around the globe.
"I am just humbled, and almost embarrassed, by [getting inducted]," Smith said. "A sports hall of fame is just legendary. It's so full of sports figures and athletes and athletic directors and coaches who have meant so much to various sports. What I do, it's so not that. I feel kind of sheepish even being included in their company."
Despite any personal hesitancy, there's no denying this is very much a deserved honor for Smith. Her handprints are on some of the most legendary sports facilities from coast to coast, and beyond.
Smith, a 1981 MSU graduate, is currently the Executive Vice President for Planning and Development for the Los Angeles Dodgers. She's overseen large-scale improvements at Dodger Stadium, as well as at the club's baseball home in the Dominican Republic.
Smith's path to Hollywood was paved by stops all around Major League Baseball. There was her standard-setting work for the Baltimore Orioles as she helped with the design and construction of Camden Yards. She was directly involved with the renovation of Boston's Fenway Park. Smith worked with the Atlanta Braves to help transform the 1996 Olympic Stadium into Turner Field and also in Atlanta, oversaw the development of what is now State Farm Arena, the home of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.
Smith has been at the forefront of numerous other projects as well. So the logical question is, out of everything, what's been Smith's favorite to work on?
"They're all like your children," Smith said. "You just can't pick a favorite one."
Smith does admit she has a fondness for improving what she terms the "ugly ducklings" into "beautiful swans". One such project was the renovating of Ed Smith Stadium – the spring training home of the Orioles down in Sarasota, Florida.
Smith also had at least a fingertip in the cathedral that is the new Dudy Noble Field at Mississippi State. Now to hear Smith tell it, her impact on the current home of MSU baseball was minimal. She says any credit given to her for the project would be misplaced. Nonetheless, there was at least a small degree of input, dating back to before a single clump of dirt was moved.
"I came to Starkville back before the project even became alive and [former athletic director Scott Stricklin] invited me to come and walk around and just think about what it could be," Smith said. "How could we transform Dudy Noble into something that felt current and responding to today's needs?"
Wier Boerner Allin Architecture was the firm chosen to bring the new Dudy Noble to life, but even still, the group included Smith.
"Michael [Boerner of Wier Boerner Allin] had me look at their drawing a few times, but I didn't have any long-term role," Smith said. "I was happy just to be a cheerleader."
With Smith's resume, it'd have been tough to not utilize her brilliant mind. And to think, for everything that mind has helped build, the foundation of it all was laid right here in the Magnolia State and ran through Mississippi State University.
"I'm so fond of saying I'm a product of the Mississippi public school system all the way through," Smith said.
From MSU classrooms to those Friday evenings at the ballpark watching the Bulldogs, Smith is forever thankful for the maroon and white portion of her roots and how Starkville shaped her ultimate path.
"When I came to architecture school, I really had no idea what I was going to do with that degree," Smith said. "I learned not to feel restricted. That architecture wasn't defined as just designing a building. You could apply that degree to a whole host of things from project management to city building."
Mississippi State gave Smith other lessons as well. She took her elective courses in communications. That gave Smith another new perspective.
"I learned how to communicate to a broader public, whether it's a city council or owners or baseball players because of those courses I took at the journalism school," Smith said.
Lastly, Smith credits Mississippi State for helping her learn how to have fun. She always looked forward to those Dudy Noble Fridays. It just so happened, it was those very ballgames foreshadowing how Smith's life would ultimately play out.
"I thought watching baseball was totally separate from my personal pursuits," Smith said. "You just never know how those things are going to come together."
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