NACOGDOCHES, Texas — After initial news broke of Stephen F. Austin State University electing to join one of four university systems, a decision has been made on who the school out of Nacogdoches, TX would be affiliating itself with.
On Tuesday, Nov. 29, it was decided in an 8-1 vote to join the University of Texas school system.
The school had a several school systems to consider in their decision: Texas Tech, Texas State, Texas A&M, and the University of Texas.
Regent and Former Board Chair David Alders commented on the decision, saying "The fact that the University of Texas commitment was almost 125 million dollars and the other three systems combined didn't even come to half that number, it made the decision pretty stark and clear. Quite a few of the regents have a few other loyalties to other colleges. I would submit that more of this board have a connection to Texas A&M, for example."
As a result of the decision, Alders expects a positive shift in many aspects for SFA. "Going forward, I see enhanced academic reputation. I see dramatic increases in student enrollment. I see our ability to recruit high quality faculty. I see a win all around," explained Alders.
While hopeful that Stephen F. Austin would join Texas A&M, university system president John Sharp gave his congratulations to the institution, saying "I congratulate the SFA board of regents on securing a huge amount of money from the University of Texas system. We committed what we thought was responsible, as well as fair, to our other system components and universities, but the UT system committed almost four times as much money."
While the decision has been made, the university's name, mascot, and school colors will not change from what they currently are, according to the SFA board chair.