Ryan Ivey has been appointed director of athletics at Stephen F. Austin State University by President Baker Pattillo. Currently serving as athletic director at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, Ivey will join the SFA athletics department on July 1.
At Austin Peay, Ivey is responsible for 15 sports and a $12.5 million athletics budget. He has secured $6.5 million in private gifts to support athletic operations and authored a five-year strategic plan that addresses responsible fiscal management, revenue enhancement and a facility-enhancement plan.
Under Ivey’s leadership, four of Austin Peay’s athletic teams recently earned one of the NCAA’s top academic honors, a Public Recognition Award, for maintaining a multiyear Academic Progress Rate among the top 10 percent in their respective sports.
Ivey served as athletics director at Texas A&M Commerce from 2013 until August 2015, where he elevated the program as a powerhouse in the Lone Star Conference, winning six team conference championships, including the 2014 conference football and women’s soccer championships.
From 2007 until 2013, Ivey was a member of the McNeese State University athletics staff, where he is credited with increasing corporate sponsorship revenue by 35 percent and football season-ticket sales by 19 percent.
Dr. Ken Collier, professor of government and SFA’s faculty athletics representative to the Southland Conference and the NCAA, chaired a five-member search committee that assisted with the selection of the new athletic director.
“Ivey comes to us with a plan to build on our students’ success in the classroom, on the field, and as members of the community,” Collier said. “He is an excellent fit for SFA.”
A Mayfield, Kentucky, native, Ivey earned a bachelor’s in sports management and a master’s in sports commerce from the University of Memphis, where he was a punter for the football team and served as holder for Steve Gostkowski, who went on to become placekicker for the New England Patriots.
Pending completion of the university hiring process, Ivey will replace Robert Hill, who retired after an SFA career that spanned three decades.
For more information about SFA Athletics, visit sfajacks.com.
What others are saying about Ryan Ivey:
“It’s great to have Ryan Ivey back in the Southland Conference as the new athletic director at Stephen F. Austin, and we look forward to his many contributions to the league’s future success. Ryan’s background as a program-building AD in Division I, as well as his past experience in Texas and in our league, gives SFA athletics a proven leader necessary for continued success.”
– Tom Burnett, Commissioner, Southland Conference
“I commend Dr. Pattillo and his committee on an outstanding hire. Ryan Ivey is a tremendous athletics administrator that has demonstrated success every place he has been. Having worked alongside Ryan for over five years I can attest to his work ethic, leadership and vision for an athletics department and its student athletes. More importantly, he is a wonderful person, husband and father. His knowledge of the Southland Conference and the state of Texas will serve him well. I cannot think of a better fit than Ryan Ivey to build on the incredible legacies of my good friends Steve McCarty and Robert Hill.”
– Tommy McClelland, Director of Athletics, Louisiana Tech University
“Ryan Ivey has been a good friend and respected colleague for several years. I have enjoyed watching him have success at every stop in his career. He is a smart, ethical, and proven leader who has made every program he has been a part of better by establishing a championship culture. I am excited to have him in Texas and be able to watch the continued growth of SFA athletics.”
– Wren Baker, VP & Director of Athletics, University of North Texas
“Ryan Ivey is a rising star! He is a winner, plain and simple, and will work to make everyone around him better. The SFA community will very quickly realize how fortunate they are to have him as their new athletic director.”
– Jeremy McClain, Director of Athletics, Troy University
“What a hire to recruit Ryan Ivey to Nacogdoches! His track record of building championship cultures and hiring first-class head coaches is renowned throughout our industry. I couldn’t be happier for my good friend, Ryan, and am eager to watch him further elevate SFA athletics!”
– Graham Neff, Deputy Director of Athletics, Clemson University
