Charles Jacobson (2007) - Hall of Fame - University of Missouri Athletics

Charles Jacobson

Induction:
2007

The father of Missouri gymnastics, Jake Jacobson was the first head coach of the Missouri gymnastics program in 1979 and built the program from scratch into a nationally prominent one during his 20 years at the helm. Not only was he a successful coach, but he was also arguably even more successful in marketing the sport of gymnastics, and growing support on a local and regional basis. He had a career record of 229-198-1 in the regular season and led his teams to 13 NCAA Regional appearances. Jake was the 1990 Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year and won the same award as part of the Big 12 in 1999. He directed Missouri to the 1992 Big Eight championship, and his team claimed the NCAA Central Regional title in 1981 and advanced to the NCAA National Championships. He coached two-time all-American and 1991 Big Eight Female Athlete of the Year Julie Dorn. He guided 30 gymnasts to all-conference honors and five to regional championship titles. He founded three premier meets – the Shakespeare’s Festival, the Corvette Cup and the Cat Classic, which was held for many years after his retirement. He did virtually all the marketing of his program in addition to his coaching duties. He nurtured the popularity of the Cat Classic, which set a program attendance record of 10,562 in 1987 that still stands today. Under his direction, the gymnastics program became Missouri’s third-highest grossing athletic program by the time he retired in 1999.