Emmitt Smith attended the University of Florida and by the end of his first season, Emmitt had rushed for 1,341 yards, and led the SEC. At the end of his three years at Florida he had scored 36 touchdowns, had 23 100-yard rushing games, and was a NCAA All-American. 

Emmitt was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the 1990 draft. Over the next twelve years Emmitt was able to help lead the Cowboys to three Super Bowl Championships, lead the NFL in rushing four times, was the league MVP in 1993, MVP of Super Bowl XXVII and made eight Pro Bowl appearances. In addition, Emmitt was the first player in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards in 11 consecutive seasons and on October 27, 2002 he surpassed Walter Payton's All-Time Leading Rushing Record of 16,726 yards and became the NFL's All-Time Leading Rusher. On September 19, 2005 Emmitt was added to the Cowboys Ring of Honor along with his former teammates Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin. Other members include Drew Pearson, Charles Haley, Roger Staubach, Bob Lilly, Mel Renfro, Tony Dorsett, and Randy White.

In 2006, Emmitt was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and in 2010, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Smith has been a studio analyst for several networks including the NFL Network and ESPN. He was also the winner of season 3 Dancing with the Stars. Smith co-founded ESmith Legacy, a company that specializes in commercial real estate development and investment management.