Stephen F. Austin State University

Infobox University
name = Stephen F. Austin State University


established = 1921 (classes began in 1923)
type = State university, public
staff = 528 full-time faculty members
president = Dr. Baker Pattillo
provost = Dr. Richard Berry
city = Nacogdoches
state = Texas
country = USA
enrollment = 10,648 (as of spring 2008)
campus = Urban, 360 acres (Main Campus)
mascot = Lumberjacks and Ladyjacks
colors = Purple, White, and Red
affiliations = Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Southland Conference
website = [http://www.sfasu.edu/ www.sfasu.edu]

Stephen F. Austin State University (commonly SFA) is a public university located in Nacogdoches, Texas, United States. Founded as a teachers' college in 1923, the university was named after one of Texas' founding fathers, Stephen F. Austin. Its campus resides on part of the homestead of another Texas founding father, Thomas Jefferson Rusk.

Stephen F. Austin is one of four public universities in Texas not affiliated with a university system.

Academics

Stephen F. Austin offers more than 120 areas of study, including more than 80 undergraduate majors, nearly 60 graduate degrees, and two doctoral programs. Stephen F. Austin offers classes through six colleges and houses one of only two schools of forestry in the State of Texas. It is the only forestry college in the timber-producing East Texas region.

During the 2007-08 academic year, there were 1,732 degrees awarded. Of those degrees, 1,416 (82%) were undergraduate, 301 were post-graduate (17%), and 15 (1%) were doctoral.

In addition to the main campus, the university maintains a convert|642|acre|km2|sing=on agricultural research center for beef, poultry and swine production and an equine center; an convert|18.7|acre|m2|sing=on experimental forest in southwestern Nacogdoches County and a convert|25.3|acre|m2|sing=on forestry field station on the Sam Rayburn Reservoir.

Presidents

*Alton W. Birdwell (1923-1941)
*Paul Boynton (1942-1958)
*Ralph W. Steen (1958-1976)
*William R. Johnson (1976-1990)
*Donald Bowen (1990-1991)
*William J. Brophy (1991-1992) (interim)
*Dan Angel (1992-1999)
*Roland Smith (1999-2001) (interim)
*Tito Guerrero (2001-2006)
*Baker Pattillo, Ph.D. (2006-present)

Athletics

Stephen F. Austin's colors are purple and white. In tribute to the forest 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. Stephen F. Austin sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (Football Championship Subdivision--formerly I-AA--for football) in the Southland Conference. SFA's primary rivals are Sam Houston State University and Northwestern State University.

Men's NCAA Sports:
* Football
* Basketball
* Baseball
* Golf
* Track
* Cross Country

Women's NCAA Sports
* Basketball
* Soccer
* Volleyball
* Softball
* Tennis
* Track
* Cross Country

*The Stephen F. Austin LARGE COED CHEERLEADING SQUAD are nine-time National Cheerleading Association Collegiate National Champions. The Large Coed team has won 5 straight National Titles. The 2007-2008 Large Coed team is made up of males and females all over the United States including Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, Colorado, North Carolina, California, Missouri, and Wisconsin. The Large Coed team competes in the NCA Collegiate National Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida every April.

*The Stephen F. Austin SMALL COED CHEERLEADING SQUAD is in its 2nd year of cheering. In July 2007, SFA Small Coed won a partial paid bid to the NCA Collegiate National Championships. In their first year, SFA Small placed 9th among other D1 Small Coed teams including University of Louisville, Oklahoma State University, Southern Methodist University and Florida International University. The 2007-2008 Small Coed team is made up of 6 males and 18 females from Texas, Illinois, Colorado and New York. Small Coed will compete in the 2008 NCA Collegiate National Championship in Florida.

Traditions

*At home football games, large signs and banners representing campus fraternities, sororities, and student organizations adorn the grassy hills that surround Homer Bryce Stadium.
*The annual Parents Day is now in its 32nd year. This is one of the largest student run programs on the campus of SFA. Parents, friends and family members of students visit the campus every fall for a day of activities and school spirit. Parents Day is sponsored by the Residence Hall Association in conjunction with the Housing and Residence Life Departments.
*The University's main rivals are Sam Houston State University and Northwestern State University.
*Since 1960, a seven-foot, six-inch statue of an Indian named "Chief Caddo" was carved as a trophy between SFA and Northwestern State University (both schools are located in towns named for a branch of the Caddo tribe). The winner of the football game between these two schools maintains possession of the statue. Chief Caddo is the largest trophy in college football. Northwestern State is currently in possession of Chief Caddo, after defeating SFA in November 2007.
*Every year at Homecoming a bonfire is lit. The bonfire is built and lit by members of Alpha Phi Omega. Preceding the lighting of the bonfire, a "Torchlight Parade" is held where students walk through campus with flashlights to the Homecoming Pep Rally.
* In addition to the Bonfire - The Student Activities Association hosts a Burn Shirt where other University gear can be traded in for an SFA Shirt and the other universities' shirts are burned on the Bonfire.
*Purple Haze: The student fan section. Each member wears a Purple Haze t-shirt with the school song written on the back. The Purple Haze Section is 1 of 2 university clubs that has a section reserved (The Delta Sig Sawyers are the other). The bleachers are were painted and stenciled for the group by the athletics dept.
*At home baseball games the students in the outfield throw back opposing teams' home runs.
*The Delta Sig Sawyers (the oldest fraternity on campus; est 1927) were the first group to have a reserved section in the stands at football games, which was requested by Homer Bryce (whom the stadium is named after). They can be seen in the stands with their axe handles. The Purple Haze latered adopted the idea of the axe handle in 2002.

Notable alumni

Notable individuals who either attended or graduated from SFASU:
*Derrick Blaylock, National Football League running back (New York Jets)
*Kim Brimer, Texas State Senator, District 10
*Larry Centers, National Football League retired fullback
*Nelson Clyde, III, late publisher of the "Tyler Morning Telegraph"
*Spike Dykes, former head football coach for the Texas Tech Red Raiders
*Yvonne Gonzales Redman, Soprano, Metropolitan Opera
*Jill Grove, Contralto, Metropolitan Opera
*Cole Bowen, Radio D.J. for KSAU. Cole later adopted the name "American Badass".
*Todd Hammel, Arena Football League quarterback of 14 years.
*Kevin Hannan, ethnolinguist
*Will Jennings, Grammy, Golden Globe, and Academy Award-winning songwriter; member, Songwriters Hall of Fame
*Joseph W. Kennedy, Co-Discoverer of Plutonium
*Ronnie Laws, Musician, Member of Earth, Wind, and Fire
*Brad Maule, Daytime Emmy Award winning actor
*Mark Moseley, 1982 NFL MVP; played for Eagles (1970), Oilers (1971-1972), Redskins (1974-1986), and Browns (1986)
*Drew Nixon, former Republican state senator from Carthage
*Bill Owens, former Republican governor of Colorado
*Bum Phillips, former National Football League head coach
*Mikhael Ricks, former National Football League tight end/wide receiver
*James Silas, American Basketball Association and National Basketball Association
*Jeremiah Trotter, National Football League middle linebacker (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
*Terrance Shaw, Retired National Football League defensive back (1995-2004) for several teams (2004)
*Don Henley, Musician, Singer, Songwriter, and Drummer for the Eagles (1971-1980, 1994-present)
*Carl Buchner, Innovator and Leader, Current Mattress Firm Employee. (2008-Present)
*Brad Moehring, Nationally Recognized Duck Hunter, Currently resides in North Texas. (1990-Present)

General Facts

*The oldest hall on campus is Wisely Hall. Students must maintain a 3.25 to live there.
*In 2004, minor planet 1999 TJ17 was renamed "SFASU" after Stephen F. Austin State University.
*On July 12, 2004, "Jack," a "titan arum" plant, bloomed at the Mast Arboretum, releasing its putrid stench to a large crowd of watchers. It is quite rare for this "corpse flower" to bloom; when one takes place it is often a highly publicised event. [http://arboretum.sfasu.edu/events/amt/index.htm]
*There is a ghost in the library named "Ol' James". Legend has it that Ol' James was a student at S.F.A. in 1963 who was studying on the third floor. One night after taking 3 shots of LSD, he ran around screaming "Hey everybody, I'm a cow. You can't eat me though because you're a vegetarian". But he wasn't a cow. Then out of nowhere, here comes an angry farmer from the agriculture department and he massively slaughtered Ol' James limb by limb and ate him. After the farmer noticed he ate a human being, he projectile vomited onto the floor where the spirit of Ol' James rose up from the greenish-black vomit and still haunts people till this day.
*The Department of Physics and Astronomy at Stephen F. Austin State University operates the second largest Observatory in Texas and the Central Time Zone. The observatory served as a background in a 2002 Honda magazine ad.
*The Art Center, one of SFA's art galleries, is located in the Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches. This is the location where the Marx Brothers first incorporated comedy into their singing act after the audience became disinterested in their singing.
*A ghost named "Chester" is said to be haunting the Turner Fine Arts Auditorium on campus. Legend has it that he is the spirit of the architect who died before the building's completion. Other stories point to Chester as the ghost of a former drama student who committed suicide. [http://www.texasghosthunters.com/stories/east/#nacogdoches]
*The Ladyjacks became the sixth member of an elusive club on January 28, 2008. With the Ladyjacks' 73-40 victory over Sam Houston State, the Ladyjacks became only the sixth women's program in NCAA Division I history to record 800 wins. The Ladyjacks now join Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion, Texas and James Madison as the only schools to ever accomplish the feat. Making the victory more special was the fact that it was Sue Gunter Day on the SFA campus.
*Stephen F. Austin boasts one of most recognized Forestry schools in the nation.

Points of interest

* Mast Arboretum
* The Old Stone Fort built in 1779 by Gil Y'Barbo, the earliest Spanish settler of Nacogdoches, is located on the campus: [http://libweb.sfasu.edu/etrc/Exhibits/stonefort/etrcxibi.htm Old Stone Fort]
* [http://www.physics.sfasu.edu/planetarium/index.htm The Planetarium]
* [http://www.physics.sfasu.edu/observatory/obs.htm The Observatory]
* [http://finearts.sfasu.edu/gallery_series.html SFA Art Galleries]
** Griffith Gallery
** The Art Center

External links

* [http://www.sfasu.edu Stephen F. Austin State University]
* [http://www.sfajacks.com SFA Athletics]
* [http://www.sfaalumni.com SFA Alumni Association]
* [http://www.thepinelog.com/ "The Pine Log"] — campus newspaper