Penn State Harrisburg Athletics Hall of Fame
Reuben "Bud" Smitley - Director of Athletics
Over the course of two decade-long tenures that spanned 25 total years, Reuben "Bud" Smitley was a leading proponent for Penn State Harrisburg athletics, serving as the college's coordinator of recreation and athletics from 1973 until 1987, and again from 1993 until his retirement as assistant director of athletics in 2005. During his quarter century at Penn State Harrisburg, Smitley was an advocate for exercise and physical fitness. He led the program into its NAIA era in 1980, helped implement the campus' three-mile fitness trail, and aided the college's return to athletics following a years-long hiatus. Smitley took on the role of state director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) following his first stint at Penn State Harrisburg and served as chaplain for the Harrisburg Senators, the AA affiliate for Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals, until 2012. Over the past decade, Penn State Harrisburg's men's and women's cross country programs have hosted the Bud Smitley Invitational on campus to honor the longest-tenured director of athletics in school history.
