The University of Tennessee Southern

Coach Brandie Paul enters her 27th year at the University of Tennessee Southern in 2026-27, including 22 seasons as head softball coach before transitioning to Vice Chancellor for Athletics in 2020.

When Paul assumed the role of Athletic Director, she led the historic transition from Martin Methodist College to the University of Tennessee Southern, serving as the institution's final athletic director under Martin Methodist and its first under the UT Southern name. She is the first woman to serve as the institution's athletic director in its 156-year history.

During her tenure as Athletic Director, UT Southern has experienced unprecedented growth both on the field and in the classroom. Under her leadership, the Firehawks have captured three NAIA national championships while the athletic department has earned NAIA Champions of Character Gold Five-Star Institution recognition—the highest character distinction awarded by the NAIA—every year during her tenure. Academically, the department has consistently maintained an average GPA exceeding 3.0, including a record-setting 3.21 department GPA during the 2023-24 academic year. The Firehawks surpassed that benchmark in 2025-26, posting a new departmental record with a 3.23 GPA.

Paul has championed initiatives that extend beyond competition, strengthening collaboration between athletics and the University's faculty and staff to enhance student-athlete academic success, retention, and graduation. She also created the FLAMES Athletic Leadership Program, has overseen significant facility improvements, directed the department's athletic rebrand following the transition to UT Southern, and expanded the University's athletic offerings with the addition of men's and women's track & field and flag football. She is set to lead UT Southern's inaugural flag football program during its first season in the spring of 2027.

As head softball coach from 2001 through 2022, Paul built one of the premier programs in the NAIA. She compiled more than 700 career victories, guided the program to 14 consecutive postseason appearances, and recorded 13 straight winning seasons. She remains the winningest coach in UT Southern history across all sports and ranks among the top 10 winningest coaches in NAIA softball history.

Paul led three teams to the NAIA National Tournament and coached numerous nationally ranked squads throughout her career. Her student-athletes earned multiple NAIA All-America honors, Academic All-America recognition, and countless conference awards. Academics were equally important to Paul, as her softball teams consistently ranked among the University's top two athletic programs in team grade point average.

In addition to her coaching responsibilities, Paul served seven seasons as Associate Athletic Director while also contributing nationally to the sport of softball. She spent multiple years as an NAIA national poll voter, served on the NAIA National Tournament Committee, and held the position of conference softball chair.

Paul is an active member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the NAIA Athletic Directors Association, and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). A graduate of the University of Tennessee Executive Leadership Institute, she was recognized as the inaugural recipient of the UT Southern Title IX Trailblazer Award in 2022.

A 1995 graduate of Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, Paul earned a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting while starring as a four-year softball player for the Lady Hawks. Huntingdon finished among the NAIA's top 10 in each of her four seasons and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament in 1992 and 1994. She later earned a Master of Sports Science with a specialization in coaching from the United States Sports Academy.