Stephen F. Austin State University

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Stephen F. Austin State University
Stephen F. Austin State University seal.svg
Former name
Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College (1923–1949)
Stephen F. Austin State College (1949–1969) [1]
Motto"Striving For Personal Excellence In Everything That We Do"
Type Public university
EstablishedApril 4, 1917;106 years ago (April 4, 1917) (chartered)
September 18, 1923;100 years ago (September 18, 1923) (opened) [2] [3]
Parent institution
 University of Texas System
Accreditation SACS
Endowment $128.0 million (2021) [4]
President Steve Westbrook [5]
Provost Lorenzo M. Smith [6]
Students11,946 [7]
Location
Nacogdoches
,
Texas
,
United States

31°37′09″N94°38′54″W / 31.61917°N 94.64833°W / 31.61917; -94.64833
Campus Small Town, 406 acres (1.64 km2)
NewspaperThe Pine Log
Colors Purple and white [8]
   
Nickname Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks
Sporting affiliations
MascotLumberjack
Website www.sfasu.edu
Stephen F. Austin State University logo.svg

Stephen F. Austin State University [lower-alpha 1] (SFA) is a public university in Nacogdoches, Texas. It was founded as a teachers' college in 1923 [9] and subsequently renamed after one of Texas's founding fathers, Stephen F. Austin. Its campus resides on part of the homestead of Thomas Jefferson Rusk. On May 11, 2023, the university joined the University of Texas System; it was previously one of two public universities in the state not affiliated with one of Texas's seven university systems. [10]

Contents

It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. [11] Though the university is located in the rural East Texas college town of Nacogdoches, the vast majority of SFA students come from Greater Houston, the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and other cities throughout Texas. SFA has also served students from 46 states outside Texas and 42 countries outside the United States. [12]

The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks are members of the Western Athletic Conference and compete in Division I for all varsity sports. The Lumberjacks football team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. The Lumberjacks basketball team has made five appearances in the NCAA Division I Tournament, with two upset first-round wins in 2014 and 2016. [13]

Academics

Student body composition as of May 2, 2022
Race and ethnicity [14] Total
White 58%58
 
Hispanic 21%21
 
Black 14%14
 
Other [lower-alpha 2] 5%5
 
Asian 1%1
 
Foreign national 1%1
 
Economic diversity
Low-income [lower-alpha 3] 41%41
 
Affluent [lower-alpha 4] 59%59
 

Stephen F. Austin offers more than 120 areas of study, including more than 80 undergraduate majors, nearly 60 graduate degrees, and four doctoral programs. Stephen F. Austin offers classes through six colleges and one independent school.

The Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture is nationally recognized, and houses one of only two schools of forestry in the State of Texas (and the only forestry college in the timber-producing East Texas region). It was responsible for mapping and recovery of debris and remains from Space Shuttle Columbia that fell on its premises in 2003. [15] [16]

During the 2021-2022 academic year, there were 2,792 degrees awarded. Of those degrees, 2,230 (79%) were undergraduate, 552 were post-graduate (20%), and 10 (1%) were doctoral.

Since 2007, Stephen F. Austin has served as the headquarters of the Association for Business Communication. It is also the home of the National Center for Pharmaceutical Crops, which in 2011 discovered a potential cancer-fighting agent from the extract of giant salvinia, one of the world's most notorious invasive species. [17]

Colleges and schools

Campus

The statue of Stephen F. Austin, popularly known as "Surfin' Steve" due to its appearance of Austin riding on top of the water, is located in the middle of the campus. Sfastatue.jpg
The statue of Stephen F. Austin, popularly known as "Surfin' Steve" due to its appearance of Austin riding on top of the water, is located in the middle of the campus.

In addition to the main campus which encompasses 430 acres, the university maintains a 642-acre (2.60 km2) agricultural research center for beef, poultry, and swine production and an equine center; an observatory for astronomy research, a 2,650-acre experimental forest in southwestern Nacogdoches County and a 25.3-acre (102,000 m2) forestry field station on the Sam Rayburn Reservoir. SFA has purple lights visible on top of the tallest buildings on campus, Steen Hall. A purple light also is illuminated in the Student Center clock tower. [18]

Athletics

In tribute to the forestry industry, which is a major component of the area's economy, the men's athletic teams are called Lumberjacks, and women's teams are known as Ladyjacks. Lumberjacks name was chosen in 1923, when T. E. Ferguson, a professor of English at SFA, submitted name to the students and faculty assembly. The choice was made given the university's location in the Piney Woods, where forestry and timber products are a major part of the area's economy. [18] Most of SFA's athletic teams participate in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), which hosts teams from the states of Texas, Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, and Washington. SFA joined the WAC in July 2021 after 34 years in the Southland Conference (SLC). Stephen F. Austin's colors are purple and white.

Men's NCAA sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, indoor & outdoor track and field. Women's NCAA sports include basketball, beach volleyball, bowling, cross country, golf, indoor & outdoor track and field, soccer, softball, tennis, and (indoor) volleyball.

Homer Bryce Stadium Stephen F. Austin State University August 2017 19 (Homer Bryce Stadium).jpg
Homer Bryce Stadium

SFA's football team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) in the United Athletic Conference (UAC), formed after the 2022 season as a football-only merger of the WAC and ASUN Conference. SFA's football team earned a berth into the FCS playoffs in 2009, which was the first for the university since 1995. The team also earned a playoff berth in 2010, marking the first time in the program's history that the team had reached the playoffs in consecutive seasons. The 2010 season also marked the first time that the school had won an outright conference championship since 1989. Stephen F. Austin's only bowl appearance was the 1973 Poultry Bowl, in which the team defeated Gardner–Webb 31–10.

The men's basketball team reached its first NCAA tournament in 2009 after winning the Southland Conference regular season and tournament. [19] They lost 59–44 to Syracuse. In their second appearance in 2014, they upset VCU in overtime, 77–75. In their third appearance in 2016, they upset 3rd seeded West Virginia 70–56. In the second round against 6th seeded Notre Dame they lost 77–76 on a buzzer beater by Notre Dame's Rex Pflueger. On November 26, 2019, in arguably the biggest upset in NCAA Division I basketball in 15 years, [20] SFA upset #1-ranked Duke in overtime by a score of 85–83. This was the first home game against a nonconference opponent that Duke had lost in the Blue Devils' past 150 home games.

In 2020, the athletic department of Stephen F. Austin was found by the NCAA to have had several administrative errors in reporting the grades of the student athletes from 2013 to 2019, which resulted in the university having academically ineligible players to be on rosters. As a result, the SFA's football, men and women's basketball teams victories from this time span (including the 2016 men's basketball team win over WVU and the Southland Conference titles from 2014 to 2018) had to be vacated. [21]

In July 2021, SFA joined the Western Athletic Conference. SFA houses three sports outside the WAC—football in the UAC; beach volleyball (a women-only NCAA sport) in the Sun Belt Conference; and bowling (another women-only sport) in Conference USA, which absorbed SFA's former bowling home of the Southland Bowling League after the 2022–23 season.

Notable alumni and faculty

A fountain flows in the SFA Ag Pond Stephen F. Austin State University August 2017 15 (Ag Pond and Hall 20).jpg
A fountain flows in the SFA Ag Pond
The Arthur Temple School of Forestry is located on the Stephen F. Austin campus. Stephen F. Austin State University August 2017 28 (Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture).jpg
The Arthur Temple School of Forestry is located on the Stephen F. Austin campus.

Points of interest and notable campus buildings

Notes

  1. ↑ The statute that added Stephen F. Austin to the University of Texas System specified the university's legal name as "Stephen F. Austin State University, a member of The University of Texas System". SFA continues to use its previous name, without the added phrase, for most purposes.
  2. ↑ Other consists of Multiracial Americans & those who prefer to not say.
  3. ↑ The percentage of students who received an income-based federal Pell grant intended for low-income students.
  4. ↑ The percentage of students who are a part of the American middle class at the bare minimum.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homer Bryce Stadium</span>

Homer Bryce Stadium, located in Nacogdoches, Texas, is the home of Stephen F. Austin State University's Lumberjack football and Ladyjack and Lumberjack track and field events. The stadium includes a walking and running track open to the public. After renovations to take place over the summer of 2021 the track will be closed to the public. Recent renovations to the area include a sports medicine and academic center addition to the field house that houses the new athletic training program and the installation of a new artificial turf surface provided by a donation from a former Lumberjack football letterman. A state of the art video board with replay screen was completed in September 2016, home to largest video board in the South land Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William R. Johnson Coliseum</span>

William R. Johnson Coliseum is a 7,203-seat multi-purpose arena in Nacogdoches, Texas. Popularly referred to as The Sawmill, it is located at the corner of University Drive and East College Street, and is home to the Stephen F. Austin State University Lumberjacks basketball team and the Ladyjacks basketball team. Built in 1974, the coliseum seats 7,203. Two NCAA Women's Midwest Regional games have been played at the Coliseum, as well as a men's NIT game. During summer 2006, a new video board and ad panel were installed. The Coliseum was named after President William R. Johnson who retired from SFA on July 15, 1990, after 14 years of service. The Ladyjacks volleyball team played in the Coliseum until 2011 when they moved to the Robert H. Shelton Gymnasium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Houston Bearkats</span> Collegiate sports club in the United States

The Sam Houston Bearkats are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Sam Houston State University, located in Huntsville, Texas. Sam Houston's colors are orange and white. Sam Houston sports teams participate in NCAA Division I in Conference USA (CUSA), having joined that conference on July 1, 2023 after spending 34 years in the Southland Conference and two years in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). SHSU's primary rival is Stephen F. Austin (SFA) and tensions between the two schools can run high before major sporting events that pit one against the other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks</span> Sports program representing Stephen F. Austin State University

The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks are composed of 16 teams representing Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) in intercollegiate athletics. Stephen F. Austin teams participate in the Division I as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), having joined that conference on July 1, 2021, leaving the Southland Conference. The football team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision for football as a member of the United Athletic Conference (UAC). As of the 2023–24 season, the women's bowling team competes as a single-sport member of Conference USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football</span> Intercollegiate American football team

The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) located in the U.S. state of Texas. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as members of the United Athletic Conference. The UAC, newly formed for the 2023 season, is a merger of the football leagues of SFA's primary home of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and the ASUN Conference. It replaces an alliance between the two conferences that operated in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball</span>

The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team is the men's basketball team that represents Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks basketball</span>

The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks basketball team is the women's basketball team that represents Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) in Nacogdoches, Texas. SFA joined the Western Athletic Conference on July 1, 2021 after playing the previous 34 seasons in the Southland Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks baseball</span>

The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, United States. The team is a member of the Western Athletic Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The team plays its home games at Jaycees Field in Nacogdoches, Texas. The Lumberjacks are coached by Johnny Cardenas. On July 1, 2021, SFA left the Southland Conference to join the WAC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014–15 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2014–15 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team represented Stephen F. Austin University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lumberjacks were led by head coach Brad Underwood and played their home games at the William R. Johnson Coliseum. They were members of the Southland Conference.

SFA Softball Field is the home stadium for the Division I (NCAA) Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks softball team. The stadium is located next to Jaycees Field, home of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks baseball team, in Nacogdoches, Texas. The stadium has seating for 750 fans. Stephen F. Austin State University has a nineteen (19) year exclusive use lease on the stadium with the City of Nacogdoches, Texas starting in 2010. The university made several improvements to the preexisting city softball field including a new playing surface, a warning track, a Daktronics electronic scoreboard, new dugouts, windscreens, a new grandstand, an expanded press box, and bullpens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015–16 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2015–16 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team represented Stephen F. Austin State University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lumberjacks were led by head coach Brad Underwood and played their home games at the William R. Johnson Coliseum. They were members of the Southland Conference. The Lumberjacks finished the season with a record of 28–6, 18–0 in Southland play to win the regular season championship. They won the Southland tournament championship to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As a #14 seed, they upset #8 ranked West Virginia in the first round before losing in the final seconds to Notre Dame in the second round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016–17 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2016–17 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team represented Stephen F. Austin State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lumberjacks were led by first-year head coach Kyle Keller and played their home games at the William R. Johnson Coliseum as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 18–18, 12–6 in Southland play to finish in a three-way tie for second place. They defeated Lamar in the quarterfinals of the Southland tournament to advance to the Semifinals where they lost to Texas A&M–Corpus Christi. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Idaho.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Keller (basketball)</span> American basketball coach

Kyle Edward Keller is an American basketball coach, currently the head coach for the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks men's basketball team. Previously, he served as an assistant coach at Texas A&M, Kansas, Oklahoma State, UTSA, Louisiana Tech and head coach at Tyler Junior College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017–18 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2017–18 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team represented Stephen F. Austin State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lumberjacks were led by second-year head coach Kyle Keller and played their home games at the William R. Johnson Coliseum in Nacogdoches, Texas as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 28–7, 14–4 in Southland play to finish in third place. They defeated Central Arkansas, Nicholls State, and Southeastern Louisiana to become champions of the Southland tournament. They received the Southland's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Texas Tech.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018–19 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2018–19 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team represented Stephen F. Austin State University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lumberjacks were led by third-year head coach Kyle Keller and played their home games at the William R. Johnson Coliseum in Nacogdoches, Texas as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 14–16 overall, 7–11 in Southland play to finish in a tie for ninth place. Since only the top eight teams are eligible to play in the Southland tournament, the Lumberjacks failed to qualify this season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020–21 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2020–21 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team represented Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lumberjacks, led by fifth-year head coach Kyle Keller, played home games at the William R. Johnson Coliseum in Nacogdoches, Texas. This season was the Lumberjacks' last as members of the Southland Conference; SFA is one of four schools, all from Texas, that will leave the Southland in July 2021 to join the Western Athletic Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021–22 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2021–22 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team represented Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lumberjacks, led by sixth-year head coach Kyle Keller, played their home games at the William R. Johnson Coliseum in Nacogdoches, Texas. This season was the Lumberjacks' first as members of the Western Athletic Conference; SFA was one of four schools, all from Texas, that left the Southland Conference in July 2021 joining the WAC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team</span> American college football season

The 2022 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team represented Stephen F. Austin State University in the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Lumberjacks played their home games at Homer Bryce Stadium in Nacogdoches, Texas, and competed in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). They were led by fourth-year head coach Colby Carthel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022–23 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team</span>

The 2022–23 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team represented Stephen F. Austin State University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lumberjacks, led by seventh-year head coach Kyle Keller, played their home games at the William R. Johnson Coliseum in Nacogdoches, Texas as members of the Western Athletic Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023–24 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team</span> Basketball team season

The 2023–24 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team represents Stephen F. Austin State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lumberjacks, led by eighth-year head coach Kyle Keller, play their home games at the William R. Johnson Coliseum in Nacogdoches, Texas as members of the Western Athletic Conference.

References

  1. ↑ "SFA Story: The History of Stephen F. Austin State University". sfasu.edu. Stephen F. Austin State University. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Origins of the University". www.sfasu.edu. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  3. ↑ "About SFASU".
  4. ↑ As of 2021 Stephen F. Austin Annual Report. Page 5 "Overview" (PDF). Stephen F. Austin State University.
  5. ↑ cite web | url=https://www.sfasu.edu/about-sfa/university-leadership/steve-westbrook | title=Steve Westbrook, EdD }
  6. ↑ "SFA names new provost, executive vice president".
  7. ↑ "SFA reports fall enrollment numbers". Stephen F Austin State University. September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  8. ↑ SFA Official University Identity Standards Manual (PDF). June 17, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  9. ↑ "In Memory of Wilfred Roy Cousins". Journal of the Senate of the State of Texas, First and Second Called Sessions of the Seventieth Legislature, Volume 4, Legislative Document, 1987: 310. 1987.
  10. ↑ Ketterer, Samantha (May 10, 2023). "Stephen F. Austin State University to join University of Texas System". The Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Accreditations | SFASU". Sfasu.edu. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 14, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ↑ Barron, David (May 20, 2020). "SFA placed on NCAA probation, must vacate wins in four sports". HoustonChronicle.com.
  14. ↑ "College Scorecard: Stephen F Austin State University". United States Department of Education . Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  15. ↑ Jeffrey Williams (April 9, 2003). "Search and Recovery of the Space Shuttle Columbia: A Geospatial 1st Responder Perspective". Faculty Publications. Nacogdoches, Texas: Stephen F. Austin State University. 3. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  16. ↑ Stepaniak, Philip C.; Lane, Helen W.; Davis, Jeffrey R. (May 2014). Loss of Signal: Aeromedical Lessons Learned from the STS-107 Columbia Space Shuttle Mishap (PDF). Washington, DC: NASA. p. 117. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  17. ↑ "SFA researchers discover cancer-treating potential of invasive plant". SFASU. July 11, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  18. 1 2 "Traditions Council: Student Affairs Programs". www.sfasu.edu. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  19. ↑ "SFA earns first NCAA bid, Texas and A&M also in".
  20. ↑ Borzello, Jeff (November 27, 2019). "...Stephen F. Austin pulls off OT stunner". ESPN Men's College Basketball. ESPN. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  21. ↑ Krueger, John. "SFA incorrect reporting results in 289 vacated wins, $94K in fines, loss of titles". The Daily Sentinel.
  22. ↑ Spears, Carolyn (2008). "Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Replacement Marker for Old Stone Fort". academia.edu. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  23. ↑ "The Stone Fort Museum". www.sfasu.edu. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  24. ↑ "The Planetarium" . Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  25. ↑ "SFA Observatory". www.physics.sfasu.edu. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Page Not Found – College of Fine Arts – SFASU". sfasu.edu. Archived from the original on February 22, 2004.{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  27. ↑ "Ralph W. Steen Library :: Home". library.sfasu.edu. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  28. ↑ "Tutoring - Academic Assistance and Resource Center". library.sfasu.edu. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Ralph W. Steen Library :: Archives". library.sfasu.edu. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
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