After leading U.N.I. to an outright Missouri Valley Conference title Panther softball coach Ryan Jacobs has been awarded a four year contract extension. U.N.I. athletic director Troy Dannen made the announcement, today. Jacobs has led the Panthers to four straight winning seasons in conference play, including a 21-4 record this past season during which they posted a school record 15 game winning streak.
“I really am very happy with everything that’s going on here at U.N.I, you know Troy has done an unbelievable job leading our athletic department, and it’s really nice to see that support, not only from him, but everyone else in the department, fans and the community as well,” Jacobs says.
Jacobs was named the Missouri Valley coach of the year for the second time this past season. “We just started to make sure that we focus on the little things and we know that the little things will take care of the big things,” Jacobs says. He says the contract extension is one of the little things that then allows them to focus on developing the players.
Jacobs feels the program has tremendous potential and he says he doesn’t think there is a limit as to how far his team can go. He says his team sees themselves as being in the NCAA tournament and competing.
Jacobs says the credit for the program’s success should go to the players. “I’ve told them from day one that ‘we’re not going to win games on what I know, we’re gonna win games on how you guys play and what you know about the game,’ and they’ve done a good job of devoting themselves to the sport,” he explains.