The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast

🎙️ From Starting Blocks to the Boardroom: Shawn Jakubowski’s Journey from Coach to College Administrator 🦅📈

What happens when a passionate track coach trades in the stopwatch for spreadsheets? 🏃‍♂️➡️📊 Meet Shawn Jakubowski, former head track & field and cross country coach and now Associate Athletic Director for External Relations at Fort Lewis College. In this powerful conversation, Shawn walks us through his deeply personal and professional journey—from winning state titles in high school, launching a collegiate program from scratch, to leading a program through tragedy, and eventually stepping into athletic administration.

👟 Coaching roots

💼 Administrative calling

🧠 Mentorship and leadership

📉 Personal loss and professional pivots

🌄 Building culture at Fort Lewis College

Whether you're a coach curious about making a bigger impact off the track or just love inspiring stories about grit and growth, this episode delivers.

“I felt like I could make a difference—not just for 50 student-athletes, but for 400. And that changed everything.” – Shawn Jakubowski

🔗 Tap in and hear how Shawn is still coaching—just on a much larger scale.

🌟 Explore Our Library: Dive into 300+ episodes featuring insights from coaching legends such as Boo Schexnayder and Dan Pfaff, Diljeet Taylor (BYU) and Beth Alford-Sullivan, as well as superstar coaches Petros Kyprianou (Illinois), Althea Thomas (Vanderbilt) and many more! Find us on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more for your listening pleasure.

📲 Stay Connected: Want to get in touch with our host, Mike Cunningham? Follow on Twitter (@MikeCunningham), email at mcunningham@gillathletics.com, or text to 217-898-3038. We love hearing from you! 🎧👍