MOBILE, Ala. — University of Mobile athletics director Sally Shouppe will retire at the end of the 2026-27 academic year, closing out a career at the school that began in 2007 with a job as an administrative assistant and grew to include five years leading the Rams’ athletic department.
Shouppe’s final day is scheduled for the end of the current academic year in May. The university has already begun searching for her successor and hopes to have a new athletic director in place in the spring, giving Shouppe time to help prepare the new hire before she steps away.
Shouppe on her retirement: ‘UM has become a second family’
In announcing her retirement, Shouppe spoke about the people she has worked alongside at the university.
“UM has become a second family,” Shouppe said. “Everyone here will always hold a special place in my heart. They have supported me in some of the hardest times in my life.”
Sally Shouppe: from administrative assistant to athletics director
Shouppe arrived at the University of Mobile in 2007 as an administrative assistant. Over the years that followed, she held a variety of roles at the school, bringing experience in athletics administration, budgeting and financial management to each one.
Before becoming athletics director, she served as associate athletic director. In that position, she managed the Ram Club campaign and oversaw athletic budgets.
For the past five years, she has served as the university’s athletics director, overseeing the department that runs the school’s intercollegiate sports programs.
A long role with the Southern States Athletic Conference
Shouppe’s work has extended beyond the University of Mobile campus. Since 2013, she has also served as business manager for the Southern States Athletic Conference, the athletic conference in which UM competes.
Decades of business and accounting experience
Outside the university, Shouppe brought decades of experience in accounting and business management to her work. She handled all of the accounting for the chiropractic practice of her late husband, Phillip L. Shouppe, D.C., throughout his 33-year career.
That background in finance carried through her university roles, from overseeing athletic budgets as associate athletic director to her long-running work as the conference’s business manager.
University president praises ‘faithful leadership’
University of Mobile President Dr. Charles Smith credited Shouppe with keeping the focus of the athletics program on students.
“Sally has led with a genuine love for the University of Mobile. She has poured her heart into our coaches and our student-athletes,” Smith said.
“Throughout her 20 years of service, she has understood that college athletics is about far more than wins and losses. It is an opportunity to invest in young men and women and point them toward Christ. We are incredibly thankful for Sally’s faithful leadership and the foundation she has helped build for the future of UM Athletics.”
Search for the next University of Mobile athletic director
The university is now beginning its search for the next athletic director. Tim Adams, the university’s vice president for student development and collegiate athletics, said the goal is to have a successor hired early enough that Shouppe can help with the handoff.
“Sally’s years of faithful service to the University of Mobile have left a great foundation for our search for her successor,” Adams said. “… We are actively searching for our next athletic director and hope to have that person in place in the spring so there is time for Sally to help prepare the new hire for the transition following the end of the academic year.”
That plan would create a period of overlap in the spring, with the incoming athletic director working alongside Shouppe before she departs in May.
A college athletics director oversees the business side of a school’s sports programs, typically including hiring and supervising head coaches, managing department budgets and fundraising, scheduling, compliance with conference and national association rules, and facilities. At a smaller school, the director often handles many of those responsibilities directly — an area where Shouppe’s background in budgeting and financial management has been central to her career.
About the University of Mobile
The University of Mobile is a private Christian university in Mobile affiliated with the Alabama Baptist State Convention. Its athletic teams compete as the Rams in the Southern States Athletic Conference, part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
The university has been in the news recently for several campus milestones, including being named Alabama’s safest college campus in Niche’s 2027 rankings and a new transfer agreement with Coastal Alabama Community College for future teachers.
Key dates
- 2007: Shouppe joins the University of Mobile as an administrative assistant.
- 2013: She begins serving as business manager for the Southern States Athletic Conference.
- Past five years: Serves as University of Mobile athletics director.
- October 2026: Retirement announced; search for a successor begins.
- Spring 2027: University hopes to have a new athletic director in place.
- May 2027: Shouppe’s final day, at the end of the academic year.
What happens next
The retirement announcement did not include details on how the search will be conducted or when finalists might be named. Shouppe will continue leading the department through the remainder of the academic year, including the transition period the university hopes to build in once her successor is hired this spring.
