Hall of Fame
Steve Roberts was the head coach of the Mulerider football team from 1994-1999. In his six seasons at the helm, Roberts went 35-24-1 overall.
In his first year, Roberts’ Muleriders went 1-7-1. The following year, in 1995, SAU made the jump to NCAA Division II and were members of the Gulf South Conference; a league that boasted perennial national powers in North Alabama and Valdosta State.
In 1995, SAU went 4-6 overall, but were 1-6 in the vaunted GSC. A year later, the Muleriders picked up an additional GSC win, but matched their previous 4-6 overall record.
Through the first three years at the helm, Roberts and the Muleriders were just 9-19-1 (.328).
Year four under Roberts, however, began a three-year stretch of success that had not been seen at SAU since 1971-73 when legendary head coach Raymond “Rip” Powell guided the Muleriders to a 25-6 (.806) overall record during that time. Roberts’ three-year stretch from 1997-99 saw the Muleriders go 26-5 (.839).
In his fourth season in 1997, Roberts guided the Muleriders to a 9-2 overall record and a 6-1 mark in the GSC which resulted in SAU claiming a share of the GSC Championship that year. It was SAU’s first conference title since Coach Powell’s 1972 squad shared the AIC Championship.
The GSC title and an impressive 9-1 regular season record propelled SAU to their first-ever NCAA DII playoff game against Albany State (Ga.). A 10-0 loss to the Rams ended the 1997 season, but Roberts and the Muleriders would go on to enjoy two more very successful seasons.
In 1998, Roberts and the Muleriders went 8-2 and fell one game back of another conference title as their losses came to Delta State and West Georgia. Delta and West Georgia would share that year’s GSC Championship with matching 8-1 conference records. Additionally, SAU losses to DSU and UWG were by a combined five points.
The following season, Roberts’ last at SAU, he and the Muleriders went into the final week of the season with a chance to outright win the GSC, but Arkansas Tech, who was playing for the same acclaim, edged the Muleriders by a field goal in overtime.
Roberts went on to coach 11 more years in college football at the Division I-level with stops at Northwestern State (La.) and Arkansas State. Roberts is currently the Athletic Director at Cabot High School and in 2015, he was named by the Arkansas High School Athletic Administrator’s Association as the 2014-15 Athletic Director of the Year.
