Steve Browning enters his 11th year as Director of Athletics at Southern Arkansas University after assuming the role in Fall 2012. During his first four years as Director of Athletics, and the two before that, Browning also served as head baseball coach at SAU with tremendous success leading the storied Mulerider Baseball program. Additionally, Browning is in his third year as a member of the NCAA Division II National Baseball Championship Committee in which he serves as the Central Region Chair.
In just his first year as the Director of Athletics (2012-13), Browning helped guide Mulerider Athletics up four spots in the Great American Conference All-Sports Trophy standings to a fifth-place finish after SAU finished last in the standings (9th-of-9) the year prior.
Measured improvement across the athletic department has occurred since, and the 2016-17 year saw SAU post its best finish in the GAC All-Sports Trophy standings by finishing third.
The consistent improvement in GAC All-Sports Standings can be attributed, in part, to the numerous facility enhancements that have taken place during Browning’s tenure. Among those enhancements were the $1.3 million construction projects of a new softball complex and a renovated track and field facility, both of which were completed in 2016.
The softball complex features identical playing fields and press boxes, a nine-inning scoreboard on the main playing field (Dawson Field), coaches’ offices, player locker room/clubhouse, concession stand and public restrooms. The track complex features an APT Full Pour Track Surface with eight lanes, competition space for field events such as hammer and discus throws as well as shotput. Additionally, areas for the high jump, long jump, triple jump, and pole vault as well as a steeplechase pit are also included in the facility.
The W.T. Watson Center, where men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball play, has also seen a tremendous amount of overhauling to that facility.
In the summer of 2015, the playing court inside the Watson Center was resurfaced and redesigned, and in 2016, contemporary updates were made to the lobby and concession area. Additionally, the installation of a pair of touchscreen TVs were added in the lobby to encapsulate the rich history of Mulerider Athletics in a modern and interactive way.
In the summer of 2016, Browning oversaw a repurposing project within the Watson Center that allowed for the construction of a 2,500 square foot athletic training facility. The new facility enables the athletic training department the ability to treat 15-20 athletes at a given time as well as provide a state-of-the-art practicum environment for the athletic training educational program at SAU. Additionally, under-utilized space was repurposed as media/meeting rooms for the men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball programs in the summer of 2017.
Several facility enhancements have also taken place in recent years at football with the installation of new artificial turf to Rip Powell Field that features alternating shades of green every five yards with the middle 20 yards of the field being adorned by the Mulerider logo. Additionally, the facility was re-lit with upgraded LED light poles to make Wilkins Stadium the only one in the state of Arkansas with LED lighting.
Most recently, Browning oversaw the addition of a $300,000 state-of-the art video scoreboard at Wilkins Stadium to replace a decades-old board that was difficult to see at certain times of the day. The new video scoreboard is 52’ wide and 30’ tall with the middle 32’ being the width of the video board, which has the ability to provide live feed of the game, instant replays of great plays, custom graphics and other video content.
In addition to the numerous facility enhancement projects that Browning has completed, he has placed an emphasis on strengthening and unifying the Mulerider Athletics brand and its colors of Royal Blue and Gold. In doing so, Browning secured a multi-year apparel agreement with Under Armour that began in the Fall of 2017. One of the industry leaders in performance footwear, apparel and equipment, Under Armour now serves as the exclusive provider of game and training gear for all of SAU’s athletic programs and staff members.
A resident of Magnolia since he came to SAU as a student in 1998, Browning understands its culture and knows the importance of cultivating and maintaining a positive relationship with the community. In that, Browning spearheaded a community service initiative in 2012 called “Muleriders in Magnolia” as a way to continue to connect Mulerider Athletics with the town of Magnolia. Still in place today, “Muleriders in Magnolia” was recognized nationally in 2013 as the program was awarded with the NCAA Division II Award of Excellence for Community Engagement.
In his time as head baseball coach (2011-2016), Browning amassed an overall record of 224-107 (.677). Additionally Browning won five conference tournaments, three regular season championships and appeared in five NCAA regional tournaments.
Prior to becoming head baseball coach, Browning was a longstanding fixture of the program. A 2001 undergraduate of SAU, Browning first came to campus in the fall of 1998 as a junior transfer from Crowder College where in 2017 he was inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame. Since then, he served in virtually every role within the baseball program, and helped the Muleriders achieve perennial regional and national success.
In his 18 years associated with Mulerider Baseball, Browning has been a part of a total of 709 victories, 12 regular season or conference tournament championships, and 10 NCAA Regional Tournament appearances.
Browning holds four degrees from SAU including a B.S.E. in health, kinesiology and recreation (2001), and three M.Ed. degrees from the university in kinesiology (2002), education administration and supervision (2005) and special education (2007).
A graduate of Sheridan High School, Browning is married to the former Brandy Nicholson of Strong and they have two sons, Cade and Mason.
