Samford University Athletics

Q&A with Director of Facilities and Operations, Jacob Folker 

Tell us about your roles and responsibilities within Samford Athletics.
My role within the department is to provide operational support and serve as game manager for Football, Volleyball, and Women’s Basketball.  I’m also responsible for hosting various external groups on campus such as the Harlem Globetrotters, the Gulf South Conference Basketball Tournament, and high school graduations.  Lastly, I am the building coordinator for the Pete Hanna Center, which comes with facility upkeep and scheduling responsibilities.

What do you love about working in college athletics?
I love serving our student-athletes in my indirect, behind-the-scenes capacity.  My favorite part of the job is those brief moments you get to spend with the athletes – offering encouragement, sharing jokes, etc.

Since you spend your time around student-athletes, what advice would you give them as you reflect on your time in college?
When you graduate and leave Samford, you should do so with a notebook filled with everyone’s contact information that you saw on a regular basis during your time here.  Effective networking can be vital to someone looking to start a new career.  Also, Tik Tok is dumb.

What is the best book you have read in the past year?
I could never choose just one, but I had the pleasure of finishing Donald Kagan’s tetralogy on the Peloponnesian War this year.  This is the way history should be written.  And while I haven’t quite finished it, Thomas Wolfe’s “Of Time and the River” is fantastic.  He wrote long novels, but they’re worth the time investment.

Message from Jacob: "Donating to the Athletic Department allows our student-athletes to be given the best opportunities to succeed in their sport and as a person. Your donation gives the student-athletes a better experience, and without your support Samford Athletics would not be as successful as it has been -  especially these past few seasons."