1. This past weekend, your were a member of the initial class inducted into the FILA Hall of Fame. How special of a moment was this for you?  Smith: It's pretty humbling, considering that in over 100 years of wrestling, I was chosen as one of the first 10. To be inducted makes me feel appreciative of my peers who felt I was deserving of it. It's always nicer to have awards chosen by your peers.    2. Is Stillwater a good home for the FILA Hall of Fame?  Smith: I think its a real good home. We've got one of the top three or four Hall of Fames in the United States as far as the makeup, the design and the artifacts that are in it. Its a real impressive Hall of Fame. This just compliments the Hall of Fame we already have.    3. How involved were you in bringing the FILA Hall of Fame to Stillwater?  Smith: Actually, very little. It was more USA Wrestling and Myron Roderick that did all of the work for it.    4. Growing up in Oklahoma, did you ever imagine you would have the career you have had, both as a competitor and as a coach?  Smith: I don't know if you look ahead and think that you are going to do everything that you have done. I was confident growing up and I grew up around a lot of people that had concerns for me and helped me along the way. There are a lot of people that made a difference for me. It's just kind of the way it laid out for me. There are a lot of people behind the scenes that make success possible.    5. What has been the most significant moment in your life so far?  Smith: My three children, my family and my wife. There is nothing that compares to them. There are so many highs with a family that nothing can compare to it. Winning an Olympic medal is something you are proud of and there is a lot of excitement involved with it, but having children and a wife is a daily deal. There are new adventures every day.    6. Do you think that if you were still competing today that you would be as successful as your were in your international career?  Smith: Competition for me was always about my hunger level. When I was hungry and I really wanted to accomplish something, I was at my very best. My success was always driven by my hunger. I think I was a pretty average wrestler without my hunger, but throw that in there, and you have what I feel allowed me to separate from my competition.    7. Do you still get as excited when an Olympic cycle begins to enter its second half?  Smith: Oh yeah! I love the Olympics. It's still an important part of my life. I have participated in them twice as a competitor, once as a coach and in 1996 as a fan. I look forward to it as a fan, staying up to date with the competition. Now I get to enjoy it from the other side. Its an event that I look forward to every four years.    8. Do you get involved with some of your former wrestlers as they prepare to make a run at the 2004 Olympic Games, or do you concentrate more on your college program?  Smith: I'll be involved with those athletes that are training here at Oklahoma State. It's probably one of the toughest things to be involved in because of the program like we have here and you are also trying to manage your time giving to the club guys. It stretches you out a little bit, but I feel that is my responsibility. To me, I don't have a choice. It's what I do and it's what I need to do. The seasons allow you to put an effort into both.    9. Of the Olympic-caliber wrestlers you have had a chance to observe and in some cases coach, who do you feel has the best chance of coming close to accomplishing the same things you did as a competitor?  Smith: Not knowing the individuals enough, I would say it is a very hard feat. Over the last 10 years, I have been able to sit back and digest what I did. There is no question that it is going to take a very special individual. For our country it's a lot tougher to win multiple World and Olympic titles because of where the sport of wrestling lies in our country. College is not designed to mold Olympic athletes. I went against the norm in college because my focus was on becoming an Olympic champion instead of a national champion in college. Where we are at in college wrestling, it is very hard for any wrestler that wants to go on into freestyle or Greco-Roman to be completely dominating unless some things change. It's going to take an individual who is hungry and has things together. The first one is the easiest. It will also take a unique style of wrestling that is dominating and scoring oriented.    10. Can you express how you felt when the U.S. decided not to attend the 2002 U.S. Freestyle World Championships due to a credible threat?  Smith: As a coach and a family, it's understandable. As an athlete, it probably would have been the most devastating thing I could have had to go through. When I wrestled, it was what I lived on a daily basis. I feel the right decision was made. There were some real threats that we had to take into consideration. I feel very fortunate that I came along during a very peaceful time.    11. Oklahoma State hasn't won an NCAA team title since 1994. After wins over Iowa and Minnesota this year, do you think this may be your best chance to get back to the top as a coach since then?  Smith: I think so. We have had some good teams in the past, but some unfortunate things have happened. When you haven't won it in a while, you have to take steps at it. I am focusing more on the total season this year. I am addressing injuries more and not letting things get by me. You have to build confidence and change some history. It takes some building and I do think that this is a good squad that has a great opportunity, but there are some real challenges out there. This is a team that is going to need to get better.    12. Over the past few years, your wrestlers and assistant coaches have spoken about how you have become more relaxed with your wrestlers. Would you agree with that assessment?  Smith: I think you grow as a coach. My first five or six years, I had an athlete's mentality. I was very demanding. I have never seen anybody as demanding as I was as an athlete. I did not accept mediocrity in my training. It was not very realistic. I don't regret anything. I have come to realize as a coach that I will be lucky to see an individual like me rather than expecting it.    13. Two years ago, the school gave you a contract extension. Did that decision change anything with how you have managed your program?  Smith: There were some things that we needed to elevate here at Oklahoma State, and one of them was the budget. I was spending way too much time on issues that didn't even relate to my program. Those were budget issues involving travel and equipment. To be the best, you need to be in a position financially to focus on the things that you need to focus on to win. It was nothing for personal gain, but it was an issue of making things right and making our athletes feel good. We have always had support here, but we needed to be elevated up with some of the programs that were already there.    14. You have had so many great moments as a coach as well, such as winning an NCAA team title, seeing your brother Pat become the first wrestler to win four NCAA individual titles and you were a coach with the 2000 Olympic team. What is your favorite coaching moment?  Smith: My brother winning his fourth title really stands out. Mark Branch going in to the NCAA Tournament unseeded and winning a national title was special. Watching Johnny Thompson, a second-teamer as a freshman earlier in the year, make it into the national finals was a great experience. Teague Moore and Eric Guerrero also created a lot of special moments. Guys like Jeff Ragan who spent five years here as a walk-on and became an All-American means a lot to me. To me, that is what coaching is about.    15. When you look at the team you have compiled, there is a great mix of youth and experience. What do you think has been the thing to bring this team together so far this year?  Smith: I think some of things that we have changed. I really evaluated ho