William R. Johnson Coliseum

William R. Johnson Coliseum
Location	700 East College Street; Nacogdoches, TX 75964
Coordinates	31°37′20″N94°38′27″W / 31.62222°N 94.64083°W
Owner	Stephen F. Austin State University
Operator	Stephen F. Austin State University
Capacity	7,203 (Basketball)
Opened	1974
Tenants
	Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks ; (Basketball), (Volleyball)

Last updated January 30, 2024

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.^[1]

The Coliseum is named after Dr. William R. Johnson, SFA's fourth President in the university's then 55 year history. At the age of 42 at the time of his inauguration, he was the youngest State University President to serve. Dr. Johnson served in the United States Air Force during the Korean Conflict and suffered burns from an explosion and he required a year of hospital treatment, delaying his enrollment in undergraduate programs at the University of Houston. A first generation college student, his education was subsidized by the G. I. Bill. A native Texan, he completed his undergraduate and master's degrees at the University of Houston and his Ph.D in History at the University of Oklahoma. He came to SFASU from Texas Tech University where he served as Vice President for Academic Affairs. Johnson expanded programs and buildings including Liberal Arts North, the University Center, Forestry, Rusk, Chemistry, and the Steen Library. Johnson secured funds for a new Math and Nursing Building and served as chairman of an effort to create the Higher Education Assistance Fund, with a goal to provide regular funding for buildings statewide. He retired from SFA on July 15, 1990, and SFA’s coliseum is named in his honor.

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Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU) is a public university in Nacogdoches, Texas. It was founded as a teachers' college in 1923 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.

Bernard Johnson Coliseum is a 6,110-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. It was built in 1976 and is home to the Sam Houston Bearkats men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the Bearkats women's volleyball team. It hosted the Southland Conference men's basketball tournament in 2003. It was also home to XWO Reborn, a professional wrestling organization that promoted shows throughout south Texas.

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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.

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.

The Sam Houston Bearkats men's basketball team, represents Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, United States. The Bearkats were one of four programs, all from Texas, that left the Southland Conference on July 1, 2021 to join the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Sam Houston had previously been a member of the Southland Conference since the 1987–88 season. The Bearkats have played home games at Johnson Coliseum, a 5,529 seat indoor arena, since 1976, when it was then called University Coliseum. On July 1, 2023 the Bearkats joined Conference USA.

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.

The 2013–14 Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks basketball team represented Stephen F. Austin University during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Ladyjacks were led by fourth year head coach Brandon Schneider and played their home games at the William R. Johnson Coliseum. They are members of the Southland Conference. The Ladyjacks were Southland Conference regular season co-champions with Lamar and were runner-up in the 2014 Southland Conference women's basketball tournament. They closed out post-season play as Runner-up in the 2014 Women's Basketball Invitational.

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.

The 2014–15 Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks basketball team represented Stephen F. Austin University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Ladyjacks were led by fifth year head coach Brandon Schneider and played their home games at the William R. Johnson Coliseum. They are members of the Southland Conference. Winning the Southland Conference regular season championship, the Ladyjacks had an overall record of 23–8 and a conference record of 16–2. After losing the SLC tournament championship game to the Northwestern State Lady Demons, the Ladyjacks were an automatic qualifier to the 2015 Women's National Invitation Tournament where they met the TCU Horned Frogs. The season ended with an 80–85 first round loss to the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth, TX.

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.

The 2015–16 Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks basketball team represented Stephen F. Austin University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Ladyjacks were led by first year head coach Mark Kellogg and played their home games at the William R. Johnson Coliseum. They were members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 18–12, 12–6 in Southland play to finish in fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Southland women's tournament to Sam Houston State. Despite having 18 wins, they were not invited to a postseason tournament.

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.

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.

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.

The 2018–19 Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks basketball team represented Stephen F. Austin University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Ladyjacks were led by fourth year head coach Mark Kellogg and played their home games at the William R. Johnson Coliseum. They are members of the Southland Conference.

The 2019–20 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball team represented Stephen F. Austin State University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lumberjacks were led by fourth-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 28–3, 19–1 in Southland play to win the Southland regular season championship. As the No. 1 seed, they received a double-bye to the semifinals of the Southland tournament, however, the tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With the Southland tournament's cancellation, they were awarded the Southland's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, however, the NCAA tournament was also cancelled due to the same outbreak.

The 2019–20 Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks basketball team represented Stephen F. Austin University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Ladyjacks were led by fifth year head coach Mark Kellogg and played their home games at the William R. Johnson Coliseum as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 23–6, 16–4 in Southland play to finish in second place. Before they could play in the Southland women's tournament however, the tournament was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 2021–22 Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks basketball team will represent Stephen F. Austin University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Ladyjacks are led by seventh year head coach Mark Kellogg and play their home games at the William R. Johnson Coliseum as members of the Western Athletic Conference.

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.

References

↑ "Shelton Gym".

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[1] "Shelton Gym".

[1]

v t e Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks basketball
Venues	Shelton Gymnasium (1951-74) William R. Johnson Coliseum (1974–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24

v t e Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks basketball
Venues	William R. Johnson Coliseum (1974–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23

Tenants


Location	700 East College Street Nacogdoches, TX 75964
Coordinates	31°37′20″N94°38′27″W / 31.62222°N 94.64083°W / 31.62222; -94.64083
Owner	Stephen F. Austin State University
Operator	Stephen F. Austin State University
Capacity	7,203 (Basketball)
Opened	1974
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (Basketball), (Volleyball)

William R. Johnson Coliseum

See also

Related Research Articles

References