Danny Buchell
Jacob Schner is a men’s basketball player and graduate student currently finishing out his collegiate athletic career as a team captain for the Mocs.
Schner has been a member of the Mocs basketball program since he arrived on campus as a freshman in the fall of 2016 and he remains a member of the program despite graduating from the Barney Barnett School of Business in the Fall of 2020 with his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Sports Business management.
Since graduating last spring, Schner now attends Florida Southern and the Barney Barnett School of Business as a graduate student where he is seeking his Master’s in Business Administration.
In terms of NCAA eligibility to play, Schner credits an injury he had as a freshman which led to him redshirting that year. Due to that redshirt season, Schner is still eligible to play this school year while doing his graduate studies.
“It’s actually been a blessing,” Schner said. “I think I needed room to grow; and now I have a role on the team where I’ve been here for a while and it’s a blessing.”
However, beyond just this school year, due to COVID-19 there’s a chance that this also won’t be Schner’s last year of eligibility. He has said that the NCAA is offering him an added year of eligibility in response to the pandemic. This would in turn create a sixth year that Schner could be a member of the Florida Southern basketball team.
“I’m in a weird situation because due to COVID, I got another year of eligibility next year,” Schner said. “I’m kind of on track to finish my MBA next January. I’m still determining whether I’ll come back and play that next year since this year is kind of a scramble.”
Though Schner is still yet to make a decision for the 2021-2022 school year and his own eligibility, he speaks very fondly of the memories and life experiences he has already had over the last 5 years.
“The bus rides with guys, after wins, hanging out, all the times in the locker rooms, these are guys when you’re not having class you’re with them every second so it’s just those memories and the connections I made with those guys,” Schner said. “Even when guys graduate we still talk and it’s just great.”
Being a student-athlete and playing basketball at Florida Southern has made a lifelong impact on Schner and the truth is, he’s not at all upset to be involved with this program for more than four years.
