UT Permian Basin Athletics Director Steven Aicinena announced Tuesday his retirement as the school's AD as of June 2. He will stay on with the university full-time as a professor in the Kinesiology department.

"There comes a time for all to make changes in their personal and professional lives," Aicinena said. "The time has come for me to do so. I relish teaching. Though I have continued to teach two courses a semester while serving as AD, I would like the opportunity to teach more. Further, I have a long list of research projects I would like to tackle. I love traveling and the modification of my position at UTPB will allow me to spend more time visiting vast and distant locales." 

Aicinena is the program's lone athletics director after the implementation of intercollegiate athletics at the university in the fall of 1995.  He started at UTPB in 1988 in kinesiology and was part of the task force created in 1992 that began the process of creating an athletic department at UTPB. During his time, 16 NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports programs started at UTPB, including the additions of men's & women's golf and football in 2016. He previously served 21 seasons as head volleyball coach, compiling an overall record of 337-321 with a pair of conference championships and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008.