Story written by Anthony Perry '08, Fisher College Assistant AD/SID

KANSAS CITY, MO. – Fisher College Director of Athletics and Head Baseball Coach Scott Dulin was bestowed with the Robert E. "Ish" Smith Achievement Award as announced by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) last week. Coach Dulin will be presented the award at the NAIA Awards Recognition Luncheon in conjunction with the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) meetings and annual convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee on January 6, 2023.

The Robert E. "Ish" Smith Achievement Award is given to a coach or administrator who has presented an unselfish manner to the promotion of NAIA Baseball. The award is regarded as one of the highest honors a coach can receive as it is based on nominations and selections by the NAIA-Baseball Coaches Association (BCA) Executive Committee. Coach Dulin is the 23rd recipient of the award.

"It is truly humbling being presented an award named after Robert "Ish" Smith." said Coach Dulin upon receiving the news. "I hope in my career I will be able to do a fraction of what he did for this great game and for the NAIA and NAIA Baseball."

The Robert E. "Ish" Smith Award is named for the first recipient of the award in 1999. Smith, an NAIA Hall of Fame baseball coach and former President of Greenville College (Ill.), also served as the President of the International Baseball Association. He is the person most credited with having baseball become an Olympic sport.

Coach Dulin is currently in his 22nd season as the Head Baseball Coach at Fisher College, winning seven Sunrise Conference Championships, four NAIA Region X Championships, and has accumulated 577 career victories heading into the 2023 season. The Falcons have made a total of six appearances in the NAIA post-season including four Super Regionals and two Opening Round brackets. The program has posted 17 seasons of 20 or more victories, nine 30+ win seasons, and registering one 40+ win season in 2019. The Falcons also finished the 2006 season ranked #25 in the country in the final ABCA-NAIA Top 25 Coaches Poll.

Under his tutelage, the Falcons have seen three NAIA All-Americans, one NAIA Gold Glove Award winner, 53 All-Region selections, seven conference player of the year award winners, one conference pitcher of the year award winner, five conference rookie of the year award winners, and over 120 all-conference selections. For his efforts, Coach Dulin was named the conference coach of the year seven times, the NAIA Region X coach of the year five times, and was named the 2007 Coach of Character Award. He has also seen numerous former Falcons go on to play professional baseball with three being selected in the Major League Baseball amateur draft.

This award is more than just the on-field accolades and Coach Dulin is thankful to be able to be considered for such an award. "When I took this job, my college coach and mentor, (the late) Coach Dick Meader (former NAIA school – the University of Maine-Farmington), told me to get involved at every level that I could so that I can learn from some of the best." Dulin continued. "Like all young coaches, I thought he was talking about learning how to win on the field. I soon figured out he was talking about learning what it really means to be a coach and a supporter of the game."

Coach Dulin has been an active member of the NAIA Baseball Coaches Association and has served on several committees to work on the betterment of NAIA Baseball. He most recently served as the President of NAIA Baseball Coaches Association, was the President of the Sunrise Conference along with serving as an Executive Committee Member of the ABCA and the NAIA Baseball Coaches representative to USA Baseball. Administratively, Coach Dulin was a member of the NAIA Council of Athletics Administration and the NAIA Administrative Counsel. He is also currently on the board of directors for the Roberto Clemente Foundation in Puerto Rico and the board of directors for the NAIA-Athletic Directors Association (ADA).

"I like to tell my student-athletes and my coaching staff to make sure we all treat the game the right way. If you treat the game right, the game will reward you in so many different ways. I was fortunate enough to work with so many of the great NAIA coaches though out my years working on the NAIA Baseball Coaches Association (BCA) boards and committees. I have learned so much from some of the greatest coaches, including some of those whom were presented this award in the past."

One of those great coaches, Oklahoma Wesleyan Athletic Director/Head Baseball Coach and longtime NAIA Baseball coach, Kirk Kelley spoke briefly about Coach Dulin after nominating him for the award. "It is very exciting for me to see Scott Dulin's name on the list of recipients for the "Ish" award. The list of names are some of my heroes in the game. Scott deserves this award."

"I have been able to watch up close the contributions he has made for NAIA Baseball." Kelley continued. "He is truly a servant leader, and he leads with a very humble spirit. He has served in so many capacities, and he has never once done something to benefit him or his program. He truly puts the NAIA Baseball brand first. He has a passion for service. NAIA Baseball is blessed to have him. I am proud to call him a friend, and I want to publicly congratulate him and thank him for all he has done."

Kelley will be presenting the award to Coach Dulin on behalf of the NAIA and the NAIA-BCA during the NAIA awards luncheon scheduled for 11:30am CST on Friday, January 6, 2023. Live video of the event can be found on the Fisher College Athletics Facebook page (@FisherCollegeAtheltics).

Below is a complete list of the Robert E. "Ish" Smith Award winners.

The Robert E. Smith Award Winners
1999 – Robert E. Smith (Greenville, Ill.)
2000 – Paul Merkel (Whitworth, Wash.)
2001 – Gordon Gillespie (Lewis, Ill.)
2002 – Carroll Land (Point Loma Nazarene, Calif.)
2003 – Bill Arce (Clermont-Mudd, Calif.)
2004 – Hank Burbridge (Spring Arbor, Mich.)
2005 – Jamie White (Avista-NAIA World Series, Lewiston, Idaho)
2006 – No recipient this year
2007 – Elmer Kosub (Saint Mary's, Texas)
2008 – Al Meyer (Mayville State, N.D.)
2009 – Dave Altopp (Lee. Tenn.)
2010 – Scott Berry (Mayville State, N.D.)
2011 – Denny Grubb (Avista-NAIA World Series, Lewiston, Idaho)
2012 – Jim Boeve (Hastings, Neb.)
2013 – Lou Yacinich (Grand View, Iowa)
2014 – John Kolasinski (Siena Heights, Mich.)
2015 – Scott McClure (KIAC Commissioner)
2016 – Tim Mead (Walsh, Ohio)
2017 – Brooke Cushman (Avista-NAIA World Series, Lewiston, Idaho)
2018 – Tony Delgado (St. Francis, Ill.)
2019 – Woody Hunt (Cumberland, Lebanon, Tenn.)
2020 – No recipient this year
2021 – Beauford Sanders (Campbellsville, Kentucky)
2022 – Scott Dulin (Fisher College, Boston, Mass.)

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Fisher College is a small private college located in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts founded in 1903. For more information about the college, please visit www.fisher.edu and visit www.fisherfalcons.com for all information about Fisher College Athletics or follow us on social media @FisherFalcons