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Good afternoon. Your past generosity to the SFA Society has been vital to the success of Austin High students and programs, and we are reaching out again to ask for your support. The Stephen F. Austin Society is hosting our annual fundraiser party on Saturday, August 16th, from 5-7 pm. Please join for a fun event to kick off the school year where you can mingle with fellow Austin High parents and coaches while enjoying refreshments and appetizers. Your ticket or sponsorship purchase goes directly to empowering our students. This year, we aim to provide even more grant funds than the over $48k we distributed this past year. If you cannot attend, a donation of any amount will make a significant impact. Together, we show our students what it means to be “Loyal Forever.”
Event info: http://www.sfasociety.com/
Purchase tickets: http://www.sfasociety.com/event.html
Donate: http://www.sfasociety.com/donate.html
The attached letter details some of the SFA Society’s recent successes of Austin High. Thanks to your generous support we hope to build on these this coming year.
SFA Society Trustees
Zach Anderson
Rob Bridges
Allison Crutchfield
Jacy Donovan
James Dyess
Corby Jastrow
Lindsey Majors
Mark Newberry
The 40 year reunion is coming up and you will not want to miss!!
Friday September 30 Scholz Beer Garden – Saturday Sept. 1, Zilker Clubhouse.
Please send questions and current email and contact information to: grads1971@yahoo.com
Facebook page: AHS Class of ‘71 Reunion
Maroon Society ‘ honors the top five outstanding seniors who have contributed to the Austin High community with their service, commitment, and are an example of what it means to be Loyal Forever.
Congratulations to:
On Saturday, Sept. 29, the Austin High Band won their class at the Cap City Marching Contest hosted by LASA HS at Burger! After advancing to the finals competition, they placed 2nd overall and won 1st place overall in music performance. Congrats Maroon Band!
@AISDFineArts
Meet some current AHS students, administrators and PTSA members and enjoy some Kona Ice!
This story was printed in the Maroon on April 17, 2024. Written by Penn Smith, Franciso Sanchez-Celestino
Walking our halls today is eighty-four-year-old Roosevelt Nivens, a living legend here at Stephen F. Austin High School. With a remarkable tenure of 19 years as a coach and an additional four years as a substitute teacher, Nivens has left a mark on the hearts and minds of thousands within the Austin High community and beyond.
Nivens’ journey began in poverty, growing up in Muskogee, Oklahoma with his mother and five sisters. Despite humble beginnings, he found solace and mentorship in high school through basketball, forming a profound bond with his coach, who assumed the role of a surrogate father figure. This compassionate guidance inspired Nivens to pursue a career in coaching later in life.
Before his coaching career, Nivens earned a full scholarship to Langston University, where he excelled as a defensive tackle in football while also playing as a center for the basketball team and participating in track. “My experience as a student-athlete at Langston University was amazing, we were winners.” During Nivens’ time at Langstone University, the Langston Lions football team won three consecutive titles as champions of the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference in 1959, 1960, and 1961.
He said, “It helped me to become a coach, giving knowledge of the game. And built my character as a man, taught me how to get up when I fell down, and let me know I am important and loved.”
His collegiate years spanned from 1959 to 1963, a time marked by the pervasive grip of segregation, which denied him admission to the University of Oklahoma.
Following his college tenure as a student-athlete, Nivens transitioned into the educator role, a path unexpectedly accelerated by an injury to the head coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Idabel, Oklahoma. Thus, in his inaugural year as a teacher, Nivens found himself thrust into the role of head coach for the football team, a daunting challenge that he persevered in amidst much adversity. “It was very unexpected but there were already a few good athletes there, and we ended our season 5-5.” He was there for three years as the head coach for the football, basketball, and track teams.
His journey led him to Austin, Texas, where he embarked on coaching girls’ softball at Austin High, a program he initiated. His dedication and prowess soon saw him coaching all three levels of basketball, affectionately christening the team as “The Running Maroons.”
Nivens’ unwavering compassion and perseverance within the Austin High community culminated in a crowning honor, as the gymnasium was named after him in his honor. Overwhelmed with emotion upon receiving this honor, he fondly recalls the moment he learned of the gym’s dedication, prompting him to invite his entire family to witness the unveiling of the maroon-lettered tribute. So profound was his attachment to the gym that he chose it as the venue for his wedding to his second wife, Oleander Thomas, in 2021, a testament to the deep significance of Austin High in his life.
Today, Nivens continues to impact Austin High, sharing wisdom, spreading smiles, and leaving a remarkable legacy of compassion, perseverance, and loyalty in his wake. With plans to substitute for two more years before retiring, he remains an unwavering supporter of Austin High.
Our 55th Class Reunion is planned for August 3, 2024. Check back–more information to follow!!!
12/12/21: Coach Nivens was recently married in the AHS gym named after HIM!!! Please click on this link to see a most wonderful video of our beloved Coach.
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/82-year-old-former-austin-high-school-coach-finds-loves-again-marries-in-gym-named-after-him/?fbclid=IwAR0EvMYQbRWSQPYOEoTLzOM9rCBTAE2dKi9lTXeZTrZ9FKgEvmjLUzxTOl4
LaFalco “Corkey” Robinson, longtime band director in the Austin school system, passed away on June 20, 2021, at the Lantana Lodge at Longhorn Village just outside of Austin, TX. Corkey was born to William Wallace and Geneva Walker Robinson on August 11, 1927 in Cooper, Texas, where he grew up and graduated from Cooper High School, playing saxophone in the high school band. When the school’s high school band director was drafted into the Armed Services, Corkey became director of the dance band, and began his career as a conductor at a very young age.
He entered The University of Texas at Austin in September 1944, where he played briefly in the Longhorn Band before entering the U.S. Navy in 1945. He attended the Navy School of Music, and was later assigned to a Navy dance band in the Pacific theater.
Following his discharge from the service in 1949, Corkey re-entered U. T. Austin in 1950 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1953 and a Master’s degree in Music Education in 1956. Later that year, Corkey became the band and orchestra director at O. Henry Junior High School in Austin. Continue reading “Thank you LaFalco “Corkey” Robinson” »
