LIVINGSTON – A lot has changed in athletic department of the Black Belt’s home-team university.

Longtime Athletic Director Dee Outlaw announced his plans to retire earlier this year.

But before taking his gold watch and fading into the sunset, he made a choice many Tiger fans hope will lead the University of West Alabama to the promised land: Success on the football field.

Outlaw hired three-time Division III national champion coach Bobby Wallace, a legend in Florence at the University of North Alabama.

The final stage of the Tiger program’s transformation will occur this afternoon.

West Alabama President Richard Holland has announced a press conference scheduled for 2 p.m. today to announce the hiring of a new athletic director, E.J. Brophy.

The press conference will be held in the conference room of the Student Union Building located on the West Alabama campus.

Brophy, a native of Montgomery, has been employed by the University of Alabama-Birmingham since January of 2003 as Assistant Athletic Director for External Affairs.

He has been hired by UWA to replace current Athletic Director Dee Outlaw who has announced his retirement effective July 1.

Brophy is a former all-conference catcher for UAB. He lettered four years (1989-92) and earned first-team Great Midwest Conference honors as a senior in 1992, a year after he was tabbed to the second-team All-Sun Belt Conference squad.

He was a member of UAB’s NCAA Tournament team in 1991 and was a standout on the Great Midwest Conference champion squad in 1992 as the Blazers finished with a 43-18 record.

Following his playing career at UAB as a four-year starter, Brophy was selected in the 37th round of the professional baseball draft and spent three years in the Philadelphia Phillies’ farm system. He reached the Phillies’ AAA level team in 1995.

Brophy has served as head baseball coach at Wallace Community College in Selma.

Prior to his tenure at Wallace, he was assistant baseball coach at the University of Montevallo (1997-98) and Samford University (1995-1996).