Q&A with Assistant AD for Development and Director of the S-Club, Dr. EJ Brophy
Share with us about your family.
My wife Cindy is a Birmingham native and school teacher, and we met at UAB in 1989 while I was a baseball player and she was co-captain of the Golden Girls athletic dance team. We have been married for 29 years and look forward to our 30th anniversary this February. We have one son (Brooks) who was a college pitcher at UAH and is now attending Auburn Medical School, and one daughter (Bailey) who just finished her sophomore year at Alabama where she is a member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and works part-time in the Fuel by Bama area of the UA Athletic Department. I've been blessed with a beautiful family and I am definitely a family man.
As a retired athletics director, what made you decide to get back into college athletics? Why Samford?
After retiring with 25 plus years in public education in Alabama right before COVID hit, I soon missed being around college students and student-athletes. Youth provides the juice that energizes a college campus, and I missed being around that dynamic. I've been a Baptist all my life and a Christian since age seven, so working at a place like Samford that is very Christ-centered is right up my alley.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Australia
When you're not working, how do you like to spend your time?
A few years ago I was watching a lot of my kids' extracurricular events, but these days I enjoy spending time with my wife and visiting my children as much as I can.
What have you enjoyed most about working for Samford Athletics?
Getting back in the college game has really been fun. So many years of my career have been on a college campus and I really missed it. Without students nobody on any campus would have a job. All university employees around the world should always remember that.
Final Message from EJ:
"Every single dollar given to Samford University matters, and helps students pursue the same dreams that our donors had as college students years ago. And every single gift, no matter the size, is greatly appreciated by myself and everyone at our outstanding university."
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