Max Rasmussen

The new BSM Assistant Athletic Director is excited to kick off the new year hoping to make a big impact on student-athletes.

This year, Benilde-St. Margaret’s welcomes Jacob Sand to the athletic department. Sand began in August, assuming the role of Assistant Athletic Director at BSM. He comes from Saint Thomas Academy, where he was a teacher, an athletic director, and the head coach of the basketball team, so he has plenty of experience. He wants to help students do what is best for them and to make student-athletes as successful as possible while at BSM.

Sand was initially attracted to BSM because he felt comfortable in the culture and atmosphere, as well as the opportunity to work with his former boss from Saint Thomas Academy, Matt Pryor, who is the new Athletic Director here at BSM. “[BSM is] the right fit for me, personally and professionally,” Sand said.

BSM is a larger, co-ed school with a more welcoming environment and many more sports than STA, which Sand appreciates. As a father of two, Sand is excited to have both of his kids now exposed to different sports and cultures. “I like that my five-year-old son or my two-year-old daughter can come and see kids doing something different. That’s one of the coolest things for my daughter. She has never seen girls play sports before, because she only went to the games when I was the head basketball coach at St. Thomas Academy,” Sand said.

Sand values keeping students honest and accountable while also helping them do their best. He wants to set students up for their best chance at success, and not just give them the answer. “I think it is important to be accountable for your actions and for your job. Just like when I had students [in a classroom], it’s not my job to babysit you as your teacher. It’s my job to give you the tools to be successful, and then you have to run with them,” Sand said.

Sand is excited for the upcoming school year and stresses the importance of building connections and caring for one another. “I’m looking forward to getting to know more of the student body, because one of the things that I value the most is connections. … I think in this community, in any school community, if you guys learn to value each other as people … I think that goes a long way. And I’ve already seen that here over my short time [here],” Sand said.

Sand believes in service leadership, the philosophy that a leader’s primary focus is on serving others to support their growth and well-being. He wants to implement processes that will make BSM athletics a first-class organization, which delivers a great experience for students.“I’m trying to serve our student-athletes and their families to ensure that their experience in activities and athletics is seamless,” Sand said.

Based on their prior experience working together, Pryor expects Sand to have a significant impact at BSM. Pryor describes him as very Type A, along with a dry sense of humor and an impressive golf game.“[Sand] is hyper-organized. He’s great at putting policies and systems in place that I think are going to serve our athletics program very well moving forward across the board,” Pryor said.

While much of his role as Assistant Athletic Director is often behind the scenes, Sand is looking forward to establishing connections throughout BSM, so he asks students to stop by and introduce themselves when they have a chance, and maybe ask him about his latest round of golf.