By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Several players and coaches with Northern Kentucky ties have come and gone during the NCAA Division I men’s basketball playoffs over the last few weeks, but one local resident did make it to the coveted Final Four.
Bert Smith of Florence is among the 11 officials selected to work Saturday’s two semifinal games and Monday’s national championship game to be played at NRG Stadium in Houston. A three-person crew will be on the court for each game with two others serving as standby officials.
This is Smith’s 29th season as an NCAA Division I men’s basketball official. He grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., and came to this area when he worked for Avis Car Rental. He quit that job to become a full-time official in 2010.
Two years ago, Smith was calling an NCAA Elite Eight game between Gonzaga and Southern California at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis when he collapsed on the court. In a video posted on the referee.com website, Smith said he has “zero recollection” of the incident that halted the nationally televised game.
“Next thing I know, I’m looking up at the ceiling at Lucas Oil Stadium and I’ve got a semicircle of people around me,” he said in the video.
Smith was wheeled off the court in a stretcher and taken to a training room where medical personnel tried to find out why he passed out. He also had other officials and NCAA administrators coming in to check on him.
“It was a very touching moment because you could at that time really feel the fraternity of our officiating community,” he said.
Later that day, Smith went to the hospital for a battery of tests and one of them revealed a pulmonary embolism. There was a blood clot in his lungs that restricted oxygen and caused him to pass out.
“Fortunate for me, they came in after reviewing the imaging and said they were able to treat it with medicine,” he recounted.
Smith returned to officiating and what happened to him two years ago will likely come up during the Final Four. At the end of the video, he offers some inspiring words on appreciating life and relationships.
“You have to value each day because none of us is guaranteed tomorrow,” he said. “Did I tell the people that mean a lot to me that I love them? If you didn’t, you should.”