University of Mobile Names Jon Seymour Head Baseball Coach, First Game at The Hank

University of Mobile Names Jon Seymour Head Baseball Coach, First Game at The Hank

The University of Mobile Rams baseball team took the field at Hank Aaron Stadium on Feb. 19 against cross-town rival Spring Hill College with new head coach Jon Seymour.

“Baseball at the Hank” marked the first time the UM Rams and SHC Badgers have played at Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile. Voices of Mobile opened the game with the National Anthem.

Seymour served as interim head coach following the sudden death of head coach Mike Jacobs who founded and led the UM program for the 30 seasons it has been in existence. Seymour was assistant then associate coach for 15 years under Jacobs.

“During his long tenure as assistant and associate baseball coach, Jon Seymour learned how to run a quality program. I am very confident he will carry on our rich tradition,” Burnett said.
Seymour said he will continue to build on the vision that Jacobs established.

“In building the Rams baseball program, Mike and Joy Jacobs created a standard of excellence both on and off the field that we will do everything in our power to protect and uphold,” Seymour said. “Coach Jacobs left a pretty big set of shoes to fill. While I know I can’t fill them exactly, I will pick those shoes up and carry them with me wherever I go.”

Seymour said a former player, Jared Baria, said something very profound on opening day of the season – that this is the last team Coach Jacobs picked.

“These kids are proud and honored to play with that distinction and will continue to honor what Jacobs honored, and that is playing to glorify the Kingdom of Jesus Christ,” Seymour said.

“The young men who have come through this program are known as men of character in their homes, careers and community. The mission of this program will be what it has always been, and that is to pour into the lives of young men who will pour into our communities and the world,” he added.

Previously, Seymour served three years as assistant coach at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. He joined the Rams baseball program in 2004 as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, later becoming involved in all aspects of the program.

To honor Jacobs, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson proclaimed Feb. 19, 2020, “Coach Mike Jacobs Day” in Mobile as the Rams opened their season.

The proclamation recognized the impact and legacy of Jacobs, who founded the Rams baseball program in 1990 and served as head coach for all 30 seasons until his death on Dec. 3, 2019.

Jacobs was “a man of faith and integrity who invested his life in the young men he coached, in his family, and in service to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” the proclamation read.

The proclamation reads:

WHEREAS, University of Mobile Coach Michael Allen “Mike” Jacobs founded the Rams baseball program in 1990 and served as head coach for all 30 seasons until his death on December 3, 2019, and

WHEREAS Coach Jacobs compiled a record of 993 wins and led the Rams to three streaks of 40 or more total wins, reaching the 30-win plateau 17 times and guiding the Rams to seven conference championships and a berth in the 2001 NAIA World Series, and

WHEREAS Coach Jacobs was inducted into the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2018 and named Conference Coach of the Year in 1998, 2001 and 2008, and

WHEREAS The University of Mobile named its baseball field “Mike Jacobs Field” in 2011 and appointed him athletic director of the largest athletic program in the NAIA on July 1, 2019, and

WHEREAS the beloved coach left a legacy as a man of faith and integrity who invested his life in the young men he coached, in his family, and in service to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

NOW, THEREFORE, I, William S. Stimpson, 108th Mayor of the City of Mobile, Alabama, do hereby officially recognize February 19, 2020 as Coach Mike Jacobs Day in the City of Mobile. (UM)