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Lumberjacks Make Great

Become Great at SFA

Have a dream career or a major in mind? Still undecided? With more than 120 areas of interest at SFA,
you can find your path to becoming great.

VISIT ACADEMICS

Fast Facts

#1 Regional Texas
Public School

in the U.S. News &
World Report
Best Colleges
rankings.
July 2025

$2.73 million
portfolio

managed by
Mast Student
Investment
Roundtable
Lumberjacks

September 2025

Approximately
200,000 sq. ft. of
new construction

upgraded dining and
academic facilities
over the next two years
May 2025

Study Abroad
with scholarships

10 faculty-led programs
13 destinations
162 students
July 2025

Explore your passions, meet our faculty

Select an area of interest and discover how we inspire success – one Lumberjack at a time.

SFA Traditions

The Axe Handle

SFA freshmen receive an axe handle to personalize with their own Lumberjack spirit. Students can be seen (and heard) banging axe handles on the bleachers at SFA football games.

 

Ole Cotton

Ole Cotton is an imposing 75mm cannon that fires a celebratory shot every time the SFA Lumberjack football team scores. The SFA ROTC cadets man Ole Cotton just beyond the south end zone at Homer Bryce Stadium. The powerful blast can be heard – and often felt – all over town.

 

The Homecoming Bonfire

SFA's traditional bonfire and pep rally are the centerpieces of homecoming. Usually held in October, homecoming is a series of traditions that bring Lumberjacks together to celebrate SFA. Other events include homecoming elections, downtown parade, football games and much more.

 

Purple Haze

Press play to hear our rowdy Purple Haze student section in action. At SFA’s home football games, fans in the student section loudly bang their axe handles on a metal “Purple Haze” sign to show support for our beloved Lumberjacks (and to rattle the opposing team). Now that’s a home-field advantage!

  • Natalie Thornton

    The fifth speaker in Stephen F. Austin State University’s Montgomery Professorship for Humane Education Speaker Series will be Natalie Thornton, executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates of the Pines and former public high school teacher. She will present “Connected and Compassionate: Humane Education Strategies for Trust-Based Relational Intervention” at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 24 both on Zoom and in person at the Janice A. Pattillo Early Childhood Research Center, Room 212. 

  •  Pictured, from back left, are Miranda Isham and Elizabeth Pierce. Pictured, from front left, are Janell Almanza and Dr. Sarah Straub.

    Members of Stephen F. Austin State University’s Bilingual Education Student Organization shared research, volunteered and connected with bilingual education leaders from across the state during the 2025 Texas Association for Bilingual Education Conference. Pictured, from back left, are Miranda Isham and Elizabeth Pierce. Pictured, from front left, are Janell Almanza and Dr. Sarah Straub.

  • Stephen Kinnaird, Stephen F. Austin State University alumnus and Kinnaird Guitars owner, shows members of SFA’s Nelson Rusche College of Business Economics Reading Group and participants in the college’s new “Economic Success Stories: Entrepreneurship According to Founders” business practicum one of his custom-made guitars.

    Stephen Kinnaird, Stephen F. Austin State University alumnus and Kinnaird Guitars owner, shows members of SFA’s Nelson Rusche College of Business Economics Reading Group and participants in the college’s new “Economic Success Stories: Entrepreneurship According to Founders” business practicum one of his custom-made guitars. Inspired by the book “Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days,” by Chris Guillebeau, students visited three Nacogdoches-area businesses during the fall semester that started as side hustles: Fredonia Brewery, Kinnaird Guitars and Java Jacks.