Nacogdoches Chamber Stakeholder Conference Call

Nacogdoches Chamber Stakeholder Conference Call with SFA Athletics updates from Ryan Ivey, Director of Athletics, SFASU.

Community partners will also give updates.
Sponsored by Austin Bank

AGENDA
10:00 a.m.       Welcome & Speaker Introduction by C. Wayne Mitchell, President & CEO, Nacogdoches County Chamber
SFA Athletics Update by Ryan Ivey, Director of Athletics, SFASU
City of Nacogdoches Update by Mario Canizares, Nacogdoches City Manager
Stephen F. Austin State University Update by Dr. Scott Gordon, President, SFASU
NEDCO/ City of Nacogdoches Update by Larissa Philpot, President & CEO, NEDCO
Update from the Office of the Governor by Betty Russo, Regional Representative for Governor Greg Abbott
Hospitality Industry Update by Sherry Chaney Morgan, Executive Director, Visit Nacogdoches
Social Services Update by Gary Lee Ashcraft, President & CEO, Nacogdoches Area United Way
COVID-19/ Health Update by Jessica Sowell, Communications, City of Nacogdoches

About Ryan Ivey
Upon being named Stephen F. Austin State University’s Director of Athletics on July 1, 2018, Ryan Ivey wasted no time in setting the ultimate goal for the department: to become the best mid-major NCAA Division I athletic program in the nation.  If his body of work in college athletic administration over the last decade is any indication, then Ivey certainly has the tools necessary to begin accomplishing that goal. 

Ivey’s trajectory as one of the nation’s best and brightest college athletic administrators continued to move in an upward direction during his three-year tenure as the director of athletics at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn. With Ivey at the helm, the Governors increased their national profile across both the NCAA Division I athletics landscape and within the Ohio Valley Conference by posting a number of impressive winning seasons and announcing numerous major coaching hires. On the fundraising side, Ivey helped raise $6.5 million in gifts which were funneled into facility improvements and the athletics department budget. 

In addition to Ivey’s strong background in fundraising, he helped to create a culture of winning among many of the Governors programs - most notably in football.

It was his impressive body of work at NCAA Division II institution Texas A&M-Commerce, however, which led Ivey back to the Division I ranks in 2015. While in the Lone Star State from 2013-15, the Mayfield, Ky., native who orchestrated one of the biggest turnarounds in the entire NCAA Division II landscape during his two-year stint with the Lions. 

Ivey presented his philosophy to Texas A&M-Commerce’s student-athlete’s simply: “Behave yourself. Stay out of trouble, be a good citizen, do well in the classroom, graduate and leave Commerce better than when you arrived. That was the point of being a student-athlete.” This philosophy apparently resonated with coaches and students as Ivey helped elevate the Lions to not only relevance in the conference and state but nationally at the Division II level as well.

Ivey is married to the former Kelley Holt from Fayetteville, Tenn. The couple has two sons - Jett and Ace.