The Syracuse athletic department underwent more changes on Thursday, with women's hockey head coach Britni Smith announcing that she was stepping down from her position.

She had held the job since May of 2022 after previously serving as an assistant coach for Clarkson for eight years.

The Orange went 15-18-4 this season after going 15-23 a year ago. Those were stark improvements from Smith's second year (7-24-3) and first year (10-24-2).

Syracuse advanced to the semifinals of the Atlantic Hockey America Tournament in each of the last two campaigns. 

In addition to coaching at Syracuse, Smith has extensive experience with Team Canada. She helped the Canadians to a silver medal at the 2026 Olympics in Italy. 

Smith issued the following statement about her departure:

"I have made the difficult decision not to renew my contract as head coach at Syracuse University so I can be closer to home and family," Smith said. "The young women in our program deserve the full attention and commitment of their coach, and after more than a decade of putting my coaching career first and being away from home, I've chosen to prioritize my personal life and time with family. This decision was made with their best interests in mind, as I know I can't fully commit to both this role and my personal priorities in the way they deserve.

"I'm incredibly grateful to the student-athletes, coaches, staff, and administrators for the opportunity to lead this program over the past four years. It has been a privilege to represent the Block S alongside such amazing people. I will always value the relationships built and the memories made during my time here, and I wish the program continued success and growth in the years ahead."

Syracuse will conduct a national search for the position.

Smith's departure comes amid a time of several other changes for the athletic department. Head men's basketball coach Adrian Autry was fired in March and replaced by Gerry McNamara.

Athletic director John Wildhack is stepping down at the end of June and has been replaced by Bryan Blair, who is already on campus and taking over the position.

Just on Wednesday, Blair announced that Syracuse is making changes to how it collects NIL for the athletic department. That's supposed to help modernize the Orange's approach to the ever-changing collegiate landscape.

You can read more on it all here from our own Tom Goslowski.

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