Feb. 1, 2018
By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - Jay Jacobs remembers dressing up for his first Auburn football game in the 1960s, sitting in the north end zone with his great-uncle and two cousins.
"We watched Auburn beat Georgia," he said. "We wore sport coats. I was a young boy. That was the first time I ever stepped inside that stadium."
A few years later, Jacobs was playing football in a friend's front yard while listening to the 1972 Iron Bowl. Jay's dad was listening, too, in his car before attending a wedding.
"My dad sat in the car the whole first part of the wedding listening to Punt Bama Punt," Jacobs said, recalling Auburn's 17-16 win. "He walked into the church, and I think everybody in there heard him say 'War Eagle!' including the bride and the groom.
"I'd been to Auburn before that, but that game changed me. I saw what it did to him, I said, 'I want some of that.' It became a special place to me automatically. I was an Auburn fan from then on for the rest of my life."
A Boy Scout in West Point, Georgia, Jay signed up to usher at Auburn football games, gaining free admission to see the team for whom he would one day play.
"I came every Saturday," he said. "We'd play touch football on the grass and eat fried chicken. It's been a blessing ever since."
As Jacobs retires after 13 years as Auburn's Director of Athletics, the third longest AD tenure in Auburn history behind Jeff Beard and Mike Donahue, he looked back on his partnership with The Plains, a story of love and loyalty that's lasted nearly four decades.
Jay Jacobs' 13-year run as Director of Athletics ranks as third longest in Auburn history, behind Jeff Beard and Mike Donahue.
'I can do this'
Jacobs walked into Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum in February 1981, expressing his desire to walk on to the football team.
Two months earlier, Auburn had hired a new head coach, Pat Dye.
A 205-pound offensive lineman, Jacobs barely caught the attention of assistant coach Wayne Hall, who directed Auburn's winter conditioning workouts.
"He was sitting there watching film and he never turned the projector off or the lights on," Jacobs remembered. "'If you can survive two weeks. I'll give you Auburn tennis shoes, t-shirt and shorts. If you can survive for two weeks after that, I'll give you a locker to put it in.'"
Jacobs lasted more than two weeks. He spent the next 37 years at Auburn. From student-athlete to strength coach, administrator, fundraiser and director of athletics.
"It was the most difficult, most grueling, most challenging thing I've ever done in my life," he said. "And by far the most rewarding."
The demanding workouts of 1981 laid the foundation for SEC championships to come in the Dye era.
"There were a bunch of us questioning our ability to do this every day," Jacobs said. "But it built a team."
Halfway through that first fall, 1981, while driving back to campus from Opelika one evening, Jacobs had a revelation.
"It's one of those defining moments," he recalled. "I said, 'I can do this.'"
The next season, after the starting left tackle missed a few days of practice and the backup left the team after the first day of three-a-days, Jacobs found himself on the first team.
By that time, he'd added 30 pounds, but was still "the lightest guy in the SEC probably," at 235.
"It was awfully helpful that I had a guy named Vincent "Bo" Jackson at right running back," Jacobs said. "Because the right running back always runs left, and so being a little guy and getting out of his way was an advantage as well."
In 1983, with Jackson averaging 7.7 yards per carry, Auburn won its first SEC championship since the 1957 national championship team.
Jay started at left tackle on Auburn's 1983 SEC Championship team.
'It's been like running downhill'
Jacobs' days as a student-athlete influenced his career in athletics.
"It gave me empathy for what our student-athletes go through," said Jacobs, who coached Auburn's tight ends as a graduate assistant. "It also gave me a persistence and a resolve to push those players because I had been pushed.
"All of our great athletes, even today, want coaches who push them. They want someone who gets the best out of them. Having played here helped me do that."
The grind benefited Jacobs professionally as well, he says, creating a mental toughness that made it easy to wake up at 5 a.m. when he was Auburn's conditioning coach.
"Once I got through three-a-days, ever since then it's been like running downhill," he said. "To keep pushing teaches you that you can do a lot more than you think."
As director of athletics, Jacobs maintained that mentality, while seeking to provide Auburn's student-athletes the tools to succeed.
"I pushed them to the limit where they can do more so their dreams can come true at Auburn," he said. "My whole deal has always been about what is best for the student-athletes.
"My coaches? All they thought about was what was best for me. They brought something out of me that no other person could have. That's what I embrace about intercollegiate athletics."
'She is a solid rock'
Born in Lafayette, Alabama, Jacobs inherited his mother's people skills and his father's work ethic.
Jacobs remembers, at 14, being concerned when his father was briefly out of work.
"He said, 'Jay, let me tell you something. With my work ethic and my Auburn degree, you can put me on an airplane, start flying across the country, and land anywhere you want to. In two weeks, I'm going to have a job. Don't you worry about it," Jacobs said. "In a week's time, he was back working."
While working on his MBA at Auburn, Jay met his wife, Angie, at a friend's wedding in Jacksonville, Florida.
"God putting her in my life is one of the biggest blessings I've ever had, because she transformed me," Jacobs said. "She led me to Jesus Christ. In 1994, when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, that completely changed my life."
Jay and Angie have raised three daughters and have opened their home to many foster children.
"She is a solid rock," he said. "She grew up working all her life, picking tobacco in south Georgia. Work does not scare her. She is as steady as anybody I've ever been around in my life. The ups and downs don't touch her. She's that constant rock for me and for our three girls, and I love her for it."
'I love her for it': Jay credits Angie's steadiness for his success as Auburn's AD.
Becoming AD: from doer to delegator
Jacobs became Auburn's 14th Director of Athletics in January 2005, succeeding David Housel. Before becoming AD, he oversaw operations, then took over athletics development for Tigers Unlimited.
"The reason I got this job is because I was a doer. I got things done." Jacobs said. "The reason I kept moving up is because I kept doing things. When you get to this CEO role, you have to be of a visionary. That took me a little while to learn how to do that.
"I wanted to be in everything. With our staff and our head coaches, they're outstanding people and I let them do their job. I'm here to support them."
Throughout his tenure, Jacobs established five priorities for Auburn Athletics: winning, academics, compliance, fiscal management and gameday experience.
Teams from five Auburn sports have celebrated national championships under his watch: football, women's track and field, men's and women's swimming and diving and equestrian.
Jacobs attributed Auburn student-athletes' cumulative 3.17 GPA to Auburn coaches emphasizing academics in recruiting, increased NCAA academic standards and Auburn's Student-Athlete Support Services team.
"They've created an unbelievable service for our student-athletes," Jacobs said of Dr. Kathryn Flynn and her predecessor, Dr. Gary Waters. "It's not a crutch. It is an accountability service to make sure they have the best resources to be successful in the classroom."
Under Jacobs, Auburn has avoided any major violations of NCAA rules.
"The right student-athletes want to come here to compete," he said. "You don't have to get in the gray area to recruit student-athletes to come here. Our fifteen head coaches completely understand that. We have a culture of compliance."
Jacobs credits his Auburn University MBA with helping him oversee explosive revenue growth that has nearly tripled from $57.3 million in 2005 to $147.5 million in 2017.
"My MBA from Auburn has served me better than any other resources I've had," he said. "We've been very fortunate, particularly the last three years, we've put record numbers in surplus. We have to continue to do that because the cost of college athletics continues to inflate.
"We've worked very hard with relationships, and also being a great product, for people to partner with us and pay us for that Auburn name. We have to continue to work every day to make that a platinum brand."
During Auburn's 2017 run to the SEC Western Division title, ESPN's Tom Rinaldi told Auburn Athletics staff that gameday on the Plains ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" from Tiger Walk to the eagle flight to videos and graphics on the video board at Jordan-Hare Stadium - rivals anything he's observed worldwide during his decades covering the biggest events in sports.
"Our students on campus bring us the best gameday experience in the nation. It starts with them," said Jacobs, who hired the Disney Institute in 2011 to enhance Auburn's customer service. "We built a foundation for our fans, but our students are the ones who elevated us to the best."
Jacobs presided over $220 million in facility improvements, with an additional $96 million in stages of planning and execution. He also oversaw the hiring of nutritionists and mental-health professionals.
The South Donahue Residence Hall and Wellness Kitchen create what Jacobs calls "an Olympic village" for Auburn's student-athletes.
"You have to keep pressing," Jacobs said. "What else can we do? What is the return on investment? How does this help us win?"
Jacobs asked another question of himself last fall. His answer led to the conclusion of his tenure as Auburn's director of athletics.
Throughout his 13-year run as Auburn's director of athletics, one concern guided Jacobs: 'What's best for our student-athletes?'
'What's best for Auburn?'
Jacobs announced his retirement in November.
"What went into my decision was, 'What is best for Auburn?' No. 1, probably the best thing for Auburn is a change. Thirteen years is a long time to sit in this chair. What's best for our student-athletes? I've had a lifetime. They have only three, four or five years. In November, I came to the decision that the best thing for them is for me to step aside.
"Bring in somebody with a different vision to reinvigorate, somebody who has different ideas. I'm excited about the new levels that [new Director of Athletics] Allen [Greene] can take this program, and I'll do everything I can from a distance to help him."
Jacobs has yet to decide which direction his career will take next. His immediate plan is to engage in a season of prayer and meditation, something the college athletics calendar rarely afforded.
"Just ask God, 'What can I do to increase your kingdom?'" he said.
He's fielded inquiries from people offering business opportunities, but plans to take his time before deciding which to pursue.
"Auburn will always be on the forefront of my mind," he said. "I'll continue to be an Auburn man. I'll be cheering for these student-athletes."
'I would do it exactly the same way'
Jacobs retires with 25 SEC championships and 12 national championships during his time as Auburn's AD. For all of the wins, he says the ultimate victory comes when he visits with those who helped win them.
"Success to me is when a student-athlete comes into my office after four years and they're there to say goodbye, and they say, 'I would do it exactly the same way, Mr. Jacobs. I'd come back to Auburn if I had to do it all over again. Auburn has created a foundation for me that I'm going to be successful in life.'
"To be the best school of the best student-athletes, you have to win championships. But when a student-athlete walks into my office and says those things, you have a lot of gratification."
Jay Jacobs now will follow the advice he's heard former-student-athletes share many times with current Tigers.
"Enjoy this. It goes way too quickly. While you're there, you're in that grind. It's long days, but the years are very short. Take your time. Enjoy the journey. Often times, it takes us getting away from something to appreciate exactly what we had."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer