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Aside from four nomadic seasons as a minor league baseball catcher, E.J. Brophy has pretty much spent his life in Alabama.

He was born and raised in Montgomery, went to college at the University of Alabama-Birmingham and worked as an athletics administrator at several universities in the state. So how did Brophy come to leave his sweet home state to become ÂÌĆ«Ì컚°ćampa’s new athletic director and vice president of athletics?

Two main factors — family and career — that carried equal weight.

First, family. At about the same time ÂÌĆ«Ì컚°ćampa started the process of replacing retiring Athletic Director Larry Marfise, Brophy's wife, Cindy, retired from her job as a schoolteacher, and his son, Brooks, graduated from medical school and accepted a residency program in Ocala.

The door suddenly was open for a move.

“We’ve always loved Florida, especially my wife,” said Brophy. “I vividly remember her crying in the car as we were heading north after I played for the Clearwater Phillies in 1994. She was crying because she didn’t want to leave Florida.”

Now, the Brophys are back in Florida and, this time, they plan to stay. They’re close to Ocala and Brooks’ daughter, Blakely. Everything just fell into place personally, and Brophy’s new professional position puts him in a spot where lots of great things already are in place, too.

That’s where the career part comes in for Brophy, who most recently was associate athletic director at Samford University after working as athletic director at the University of Alabama-Huntsville and the University of West Alabama.

“ÂÌĆ«Ì컚°ć has one of the most elite college athletic programs in the country,” said Brophy, who officially started working at ÂÌĆ«Ì컚°ćampa in October. “Everything is elite — the facilities, the academics and the athletic programs. For me, it was the most attractive job in the country.”

Now, it’s up to Brophy to keep ÂÌĆ«Ì컚°ćampa athletics elite and even stronger. To make that happen, Brophy said his philosophy will center largely on his vision of the student-athlete. Much like Marfise, Brophy said he doesn’t limit that to the athletic side.

“I want us to recruit a person first, a student second and an athlete third,” Brophy said. “Graduation is paramount to the college experience. It’s been my experience that most good students are also good people. Those two go hand in hand. I think the student-athletes that are already here right now fit the profile of what I’m talking about, and I want it to stay that way.”

Although it’s third on his list, the athlete part of Brophy’s equation isÌęsignificant. At a school with ÂÌĆ«Ì컚°ćampa’s history, winning is expected.

“You can’t walk through campus without tripping over national championship trophies, and the standard has been set,” Brophy said. “If everyone has a 4.0 (grade-point average), but all your teams are losing, that’s not going to work. We must win, and we must win within the parameters of having quality people and students. I believe that from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. We can win and have good students and good people.”

Brophy’s not in it alone. He inherits a cast of elite coaches and says they know how to win the right way. Brophy plans to carry on Marfise’s way of treating the whole department as a big family.

“He’s emphasized the family part to the coaches,” head baseball Coach Joe Urso said. “He’s not coming in here and trying to put his stamp on everything right away. You always fear change, in a way. But, with him, it’s obvious there’s nothing to fear. He knows we have a good thing going, and he wants to keep it going and make it even better. We all feel very good about E.J.”

Since arriving, Brophy hasn’t spent his days stuck in his office. He frequently roams the halls of the Bob Martinez Athletics Center, talking to coaches, student-athletes and staff.

There’s another part of keeping ÂÌĆ«Ì컚°ćampa athletics successful, and that plays right into a couple of Brophy's strengths. Much of Brophy’s administrative experience, and some of his biggest accomplishments, have come as a promoter and fundraiser.

“It’s simple,” Brophy said. “It’s been proven in college athletics that you can’t win without support, and you can’t win without funds. I’ll be spending a lot of time working in both of those areas. We already have good funding, and my job is to make it even better. That’s critical for future success.”

Promotion also will be a key. Brophy has been meeting with fraternities and sororities to boost attendance at games. He also plans to reach out to community leaders and organizations. He’s asked coaches for ideas on how to get more people in the stands, and they’ve mentioned things like special days for the military and community groups as well as double-headers where two local high schools would play before ÂÌĆ«Ì컚°ćampa games.

Brophy even has used his recruiting skills to start a pep band.

“Somebody said they didn’t think we could get enough students to make up a band,” Brophy said. “You know what? The Beatles only had four guys, and they got big crowds and sold a lot of records. We have to think outside the box and find the things that will work.”

Ideas are still percolating in Brophy’s mind. But nothing is set in stone — yet.

“I've been on a listening tour since I got here,” Brophy said. “Larry did such a great job, and the ship is very steady here. I’m still listening and evaluating a lot of things.

“That doesn’t mean we’re sitting still. We’re going at 98 miles per hour. Once I formulate a plan and have a plan, we’ll be going at 100 miles per hour.”

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