SFA appears likely to tab outside hire for Athletic Director spot

When longtime Stephen F. Austin athletic director Robert Hill announced his retirement at the end of January, it appeared likely his heir already worked in the same building.

The Lumberjacks boasted a number of qualified candidates on the payroll, most notably senior associate athletics director John Branch.

Now, five months later and as the search conducted by executive search master Bob Beaudine of Eastman & Beaudine reaches the home stretch, it appears SFA will head in a new direction under entirely new leadership.

Sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Sawmill late last week that Branch had removed his name from consideration, effectively paving the way for an outside hire. Branch will likely remain at SFA and will continue to lead the department's external affairs staff while offering guidance to the incoming director.

The move does come as a minor surprise to those who have closely followed the department over the past years. Branch's experience and relationship with university president Dr. Baker Patillo were all factors that made his promotion appear nearly inevitable.

As it stands, however, interviews are being conducted and it is likely the next athletic director at SFA will come from the outside.

At this point, rumors are only rumors and a list of finalists has yet to emerge. It is still possible that an announcement will be made before June 1st, although no timeline has been officially set for introductions.

Whoever is named will inherit an athletics department with basketball programs that are setting new benchmarks of excellence among their peers, a suddenly resurgent softball program, a machine-like soccer program, a consistenly competitive track & field team, the defending champions in volleyball and a football program potentially poised for a peak season.

To say it is an enticing job would be, perhaps, an understatement. With the momentum built by Hill, Branch and the leadership of the past regime, it is also imperative that they get the right individual to keep it going in 2018 and beyond.

EDIT: An earlier version of this article stated SFA was on the brink of a fourth-straight commissioner's cup. After calculations from the recently endd baseball season, that is no longer the case.