Southeast Arkansas College will roll out baseball, softball and e-sports in the 2023-24 school year, as well as men's and women's basketball in 2024-25.
Ka'Lisa Stanfield would like to see the college go bigger, like adding football, soccer, cross country and volleyball. The finalist for athletic director and dean of students outlined her plans at a public forum Wednesday during her visit to the college.
But why so many for a college that has never previously sponsored athletics?
"I feel as if we're in a good area to help our community," she said. "I worked at both UAPB and UAM, and the biggest thing I heard coaches say is that we don't have club sports here. My ideal is if we can offer sports such as volleyball, soccer at the junior college level, that can help high schools think about adding those programs to their school as well because you don't see a lot of high school volleyball in this area."
Stanfield, 30, is a Pine Bluff native who finished high school in Marion and earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas at Monticello, as well as a master's degree from Southern New Hampshire University. She was special events coordinator and academic counselor at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff from 2015-18, then assistant athletic director of compliance at UAM from 2018-21 before moving into the Division I level and taking on a similar role for academics at Alabama A&M University, eventually serving as the Bulldogs' interim athletic director.
"On my 30th birthday I was taking phone calls about budgets, but you know, I'm not afraid to roll up my sleeves and get down," she said. "It's been a wild ride for the past eight years, so I'm really grateful."
Alabama A&M has since employed another AD, but coming home to Pine Bluff would bring Stanfield closer to the people who matter most.
"I saw it as a great opportunity and a way to come back home and be closer to family," she said. "My grandmother was actually sick back in October. So, I had to think about, what does my life look like outside of my career?"
That approach is similar to how Stanfield encourages student-athletes to think about a future outside of sports when they graduate college.
"It's important for me to give them information about athletics, but also give them information about their education," Stanfield said. "What are you going to major in? Why do you want to major in it? Having those conversations outside of athletics, because you have to specifically come in and select a major and have to take classes, and also sparking their interest in other outside activities ... I think it's important to pitch the school as a whole. If you're not having a good sports season, maybe interaction on campus is what keeps you going."
Stanfield is the second candidate to visit SEARK this week for interviews and public forums at the college's Welcome Center training room. Former National Park College men's basketball Coach and Athletic Director Jason Hudnell visited Tuesday, and former Dyersburg (Tenn.) State Community College men's basketball Coach and AD Chad Kline is scheduled to meet SEARK staff and other community members today.