Named in honor of the university's first president, Dr. Walter D. Smith, the Smith University Center provides comprehensive facilities for student services and activities as well as for recreation and athletic programs to serve students, faculty, and staff. Opened in 1974, the center's gymnasium originally seated 3,027 for basketball, but with recent renovations that include new theater-style seats, a new hardwood floor, new scoreboards, a new lighting and sound system, and a new paint job it now seats 2,547. New video boards and press row tables were added in 2020, and new bleachers on the north, south, and west sides were added in 2023.
Francis Marion University is a smoke-free campus. No pets are allowed within the confines of FMU athletic facilities.
The FMU men's basketball team owns a 380-230 (.623) record in the building, including 31 wins in the last 44 home contests (heading into the 2020-21 season).
In addition to numerous sporting events, the building has hosted musical concerts, an appearance by Miss America 1994 Kimberly Aiken, U.S. Presidential candidates, and both college and high school commencement exercises. Francis Marion hosted a 1977 AIAW Regional Tournament, and the following year entertained the 1978 AIAW Division II National Women's Basketball Tournament. In 1988, the U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball Team played an exhibition game against the Cuban National Team in the building. In 1998, 1999, and 2008, FMU hosted the NCAA Division II women's basketball South Atlantic Regional Tournament.
