PITTSBURGH - The Presidents Athletic Conference is an ever-evolving one when football is concerned.

Thomas More College, a school in the suburbs of Cincinnati, is a new member. Geneva College might be soon as well. Coaches come. Coaches go.

But there is one constant, one familiar face on the sidelines on any given sun-splashed Saturday afternoon.

Chris Smith.

The Grove City College football coach is entering his 22nd year of putting together game plans for the Wolverines. Over those two-plus decades, there has been change aplenty all around him.

"When I was first hired (at Grove City), I had three coaches," Smith said. "Now I have 10 this fall. And that's the norm."

That's not all that has changed.

His coaching counterparts have changed quite a bit, too.

Thiel College coach Jack Leipheimer, who is entering his fifth season with the Tomcats, has the second-longest tenure as coach in the conference.

It's no wonder, then, that Smith is often referred to as the "Dean of PAC coaches."

"You can go through and count up how many coaches have been at school X since I've been here or school Y since I've been here," Smith said.

Smith is the exception to the coaching rule. He is, for all intents and purposes, a lifer at Grove City College.

He graduated from the school in 1972 and took over as head football coach in 1984. There were no other jobs to strive for. Coaching the Wolverines was his first and last stop.

He served as the athletic director at the school until recently, forfeiting the position to focus his energy on football.

Smith has posted a career record of 82-116-2 and is the winningest coach in the 110-year history of the football program.

And there is no sign of him leaving any time soon.

"When I no longer look forward to it, that's when it will be time to leave," Smith said.

Over the years, Smith has had to face new challenges. The conference has improved markedly over his 22 years of coaching.Smith said the conference - once given the condescending nickname of Pathetic Athletic Conference - is the strongest it has been since he began his coaching career."Last year, we had a team that would have finished third or even second in past seasons," Smith said. "It used to be there were one or two top teams and then everyone else. Now, everyone has a chance."The Wolverines were a poster child for that, finished 3-7, 1-4 in the conference, for a fifth-place finish.Grove City could have been at least 5-5 had some bounces gone its way in the final two weeks of the season.Smith has retooled the team, bringing in a deep collection of talent at virtually every position. He operates from the premise that a coach can never have enough talent."You are always looking for one more talented kid," Smith said.Smith calls all the offensive plays for Grove City, but it didn't used to be that way.For his first six or seven seasons, he yielded the play calling duties to one of his assistants."It wasn't a good idea," Smith said. "Those first few years, I was lucky if I could find the tackling dummies."Now Smith carefully molds his wing-T attack to fit his personnel.When he had R.J. Bowers, the NCAA all-time leading career rusher, he pounded the back for 40-plus carries a game.It worked. Grove City won two PAC titles during that time."People always asked me why we didn't pass more when we had R.J.," Smith said. "When you have R.J. Bowers, you shouldn't throw the ball."Now Smith has a stable of young running backs and a potential big-play threat in junior receiver Scott Fichter.Smith is crafting his offense to find more ways to get the ball into the hands of his biggest offensive threat.It's part of the tinkering process each year. Like the conference, Smith's playbook is rarely static."Our philosophy has always been we want to do what we do best," Smith said, "and get good at it."While the conference is ever changing and Smith has seen more than his fair share of coaches come and go, one important thing has stayed the same."I have never gone across the field in anger after a game," Smith said. "Whenever I have gone across the field, I have gone to shake the hand of a coach I have respect for. That's what NCAA Division III football is all about."