University of California, Santa Barbara

Izel "I.Z." Smith joined UC Santa Barbara as an Assistant Athletic Director for Events, Facilities and Operations in October of 2026 after over five years of experience in facilities and events management. 

Smith comes to Santa Barbara from Cal State Fullerton, where he served as a Facilities Operations Assistant for two years, eventually working his way up to a leadership role and becoming Facilities and Events Manager in 2024. In this position, Smith planned and executed large-scale events, maintained relationships with external clients, and oversaw game-day operations for over 100 Division- I athletic events. 

Prior to his time at Fullerton, he worked as part of the Game Day Operations Staff for Angel City Football Club, assisting in game day operations ranging from ticket operations and guest experiences to fan engagement activations and security compliance. 

He earned his Bachelor of Science in Health and Human Sciences in 2024 from Cal State Fullerton and is currently working on a degree in Computer Information Systems from Fullerton College.