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Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football
	2024 Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football team
First season	1923; 101 years ago
Athletic director	Ryan Ivey
Head coach	Colby Carthel ; 6th season, 33–35 (.485)
Stadium	Homer Bryce Stadium; (capacity: 14,575)
Field surface	Hellas Matrix Turf
Location	Nacogdoches, Texas
NCAA division	Division I FCS
Conference	Southland Conference
All-time record	426–545–30 (.441)
Bowl record	1–0 (1.000)
Conference titles	6 (1 Gulf Star, 4 SLC, 1 WAC)
Rivalries	Northwestern State Demons (rivalry); Sam Houston Bearkats (rivalry)
Colors	Purple and white;
Website	www.sfajacks.com

The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) located in the U.S. state of Texas. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as members of the Southland Conference, which SFA rejoins for the 2024 season after a three-year absence.^[2] SFA had played the 2023 season in the United Athletic Conference (UAC), newly formed for the 2023 season as a merger of the football leagues of SFA's previous home of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN). It replaced an alliance between the two conferences that operated in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.^[3]^[4]

SFA had long been a member of the Southland Conference (SLC) before joining the WAC in July 2021, the same time that conference relaunched its football league at the FCS level.^[5] It returned to the SLC for 2024 and beyond. Stephen F. Austin's first football team was fielded in 1923. The team plays its home games at the 14,575 seat Homer Bryce Stadium in Nacogdoches, Texas.

Conference championships

Year	Coach	Conference	Overall record	Conference record
1985†	Jim Hess	Gulf Star Conference	9–2	4–1
1989	Lynn Graves	Southland Conference	12–2–1	6–0–1
1999†	Mike Santiago		8–3	6–1
2009†	J. C. Harper		10–3	6–1
2010	J. C. Harper		9–3	6–1
2022	Colby Carthel	Western Athletic Conference	6–5	3–1
Conference championships			6

† Co-champions

Head coaches

Red Conkright was head coach from 1959 to 1961.

Bob Shelton (1923–1928)
Gene White (1929–1936)
Red Willis (1937–1940)
Maurice A. Baumgarten (1941)
No team (1942–1945)
Bill Pierce (1946)
Ted Jefferies (1947–1955)
Harold J. Fischer (1956–1958)
Red Conkright (1959–1961)
Shorty Hughes (1962–1970)
John Levra (1971–1974)
Dick Munzinger (1975)
Charles Simmons (1976–1981)
Jim Hess (1982–1988)
Lynn Graves (1989–1991)
John Pearce (1992–1998)
Mike Santiago (1999–2004)
Robert McFarland (2005–2006)
J. C. Harper (2007–2013)
Clint Conque (2014–2017)
Jeff Byrd (interim) (2018)
Colby Carthel (2019–present)

Notable former players

Notable alumni include:

Postseason history

The Lumberjacks earned a berth in the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs in 2009, the first postseason appearance for the team since 1995. The 2010 season marked the first time that the school had won an outright conference championship since 1989.

The team's only bowl game was the 1973 Poultry Bowl, in which the team defeated Gardner–Webb, 31–10, in Gainesville, Georgia.

Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs results

The Lumberjacks have appeared in the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs eight times with an overall record of 7–8.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1988	First round Quarterfinals	Jackson State Georgia Southern	W 24–0 L 6–27
1989	First round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship Game	Grambling State Southwest Missouri State Furman Georgia Southern	W 59–56 W 55–25 W 21–19 L 34–37
1993	First round	Troy State	L 20–42
1995	First round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Eastern Illinois Appalachian State Montana	W 34–29 W 27–17 L 14–70
2009	First round Quarterfinals	Eastern Washington Montana	W 44–33 L 0–51
2010	Second round	Villanova	L 24–54
2014	First round	Northern Iowa	L 10–44
2021	First round	Incarnate Word	L 28–35 ^OT

Rivalries

The Lumberjacks have active rivalries with the Northwestern State Demons and the Sam Houston Bearkats.

Future non-conference opponents

Announced schedules as of August 10, 2024.^[6] Austin Peay, announced as a non-conference opponent for 2024 and 2025, became a conference opponent with the formation of the UAC. However, the statuses of these matchups, and in some cases their existence, are subject to change due to SFA's return to the SLC for 2024 and beyond,