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FARMVILLE, Va. – For nearly three decades, Dr. Barbara Smith led the golf program she founded at Longwood, leading her teams to national prominence and success. But beyond trophies and national championship titles, her legacy has endured in the hundreds of students and student-athletes she mentored, and in the community that she helped shape over her nearly 60 years in Farmville.
Smith passed away peacefully on Friday, Aug. 1.
Barbara Smith founded the Longwood University Women’s Golf program in 1966 and served as head coach for 26 seasons until her retirement in 1992, also teaching health and physical education at the university. The team quickly rose to national prominence, winning six Virginia State Championships in the 1970s.
The next two decades were just as successful. Longwood Women’s Golf won three Division II National Championships, in 1987, ’89, and ’90, and five times finished runner-up (1981, 1984, 1989, 1991, 1992). She was inducted into the National Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1992, the Limestone College Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996, and was a member of the inaugural class of the Longwood Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005.
Smith’s personality, leadership style, and success combined to make her name synonymous with Longwood Athletics across Virginia. Through golf, she taught her student-athletes patience and resilience, encouraged them to take on leadership roles, educated them on the importance of health and physical activity, and instilled in them a sense of confidence that endures. She was dedicated to the university’s mission of developing citizen-leaders of character.
In 2020, Longwood dedicated a plaque honoring Smith’s accomplishments and legacy at the Longwood Athletics complex. At the ceremony, Smith was surrounded by former players, friends, and family who returned to celebrate the woman who had made a deep imprint on their lives.
“Dr. Smith’s accomplishments as a coach speak for themselves. Her most lasting legacy is the impact she had on the hundreds of former students and student‑athletes she coached and taught. All the core values you go through life with, that is Dr. Smith,” said former player and Longwood Hall of Famer Charlaine Coetzee Hirst ’95, at the dedication ceremony. “That’s what she gave us as college players. She lived those values, so we were able to see that in action. Coming to college is a pivotal time of your life, so to have that as a coaching philosophy, it was important.”
A portion of that plaque reads: “With the sport of golf as her medium, Dr. Smith remains a prevalent and impactful figure in the story of Longwood University, one who demonstrated unflinching dedication to the institution’s mission of developing young people into citizen-leaders who positively impact the world around them.”
“Barbara Smith was one of the great people of Longwood and Farmville, and I will always appreciate her wisdom and friendship,” said Longwood President W. Taylor Reveley IV. “She was a champion for women athletes and a transformative presence on campus. Her legacy can be seen in the coaches who learned from her example, in her former players who drew from her character, and in the community that is richer for her being a part of it.”
Smith also received the LPGA’s Ellen Griffin Rolex Award (2003) and was named an LPGA Master Professional (1994). She was selected as the LPGA Coach of the Year twice (1983, 1989) and the Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year twice as well (1985, 1987).
During her tenure, Smith coached 19 individual All-Americans (both athletic and academic), and she had multiple players win the honors multiple times. In addition, her teams from 1987 and 1988 were named to the Longwood Athletics Hall of Fame, and two women’s golfers (Hirst and Tina Barrett) have also been inducted into the Longwood Athletics Hall of Fame.
Alongside Dr. Carolyn Wells, professor emerita of biology, Smith was a fixture in the Farmville community—a member of the Farmville Presbyterian Church and supporter of varied arts, cultural, and non-profit organizations. Smith and Wells were fixtures at Longwood sporting events, scholarship dinners, and Longwood Center for the Visual Arts openings and galas.
“Our thoughts and prayers go to the family of Barbara Smith at this time,” said Longwood Athletics Director Tim Hall. “Dr. Smith helped push Longwood athletics to national prominence and was so influential in the lives of so many student-athletes that passed through the doors of the department. She was a pillar in our community and helped lay the incredible foundation that we stand on even today. Her focus on student-athletes and helping to develop young women has left a lasting impact and legacy.”
A visitation will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 6 from 6-8 p.m. at Puckett Funeral Home in Farmville. Dr. Smith’s funeral service will be held Thursday, Aug. 7 at 10 a.m. at Farmville Presbyterian Church. The family asks that donations may be made in her memory to the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts.
