--- title: HR 410. Mercer Bears football team; exceptional 2024 season, Southern Conference championship, and their contributions to athletic excellence and school pride; commend collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr410 cite_as: HR 410, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr410 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr410.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr410/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70873 date: 2025-02-26 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr409.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr411.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 131 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr410.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 410 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-02-26 last_action: House Read and Adopted sponsors: - Tangie Herring - Anissa Jones - Matt Reeves - Clint Crowe - Soo Hong text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR410/2025 upstream_id: 1986040 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Mercer University - college football - Southern Conference - legislative commendation - Macon-Bibb community --- # HR 410. Mercer Bears football team; exceptional 2024 season, Southern Conference championship, and their contributions to athletic excellence and school pride; commend ## Text House Resolution 410 By: Representatives Herring of the 145th, Jones of the 143rd, Reeves of the 99th, Crowe of the 118th, Hong of the 103rd, and others A RESOLUTION Commending the Mercer Bears football team for their exceptional 2024 season, their Southern Conference championship, and their contributions to athletic excellence and school pride; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, the Mercer Bears football team concluded their 2024 season with an impressive overall record of 11–3, finishing as champions of the Southern Conference (SoCon) with a 7–1 conference record; and WHEREAS, under the leadership of first-year Head Coach Mike Jacobs, the Bears demonstrated remarkable teamwork, determination, and skill, advancing to the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs and competing valiantly in the quarterfinals; and WHEREAS, the Bears achieved an undefeated 7–0 record at home, reflecting their dominance at Five Star Stadium and their commitment to excellence in front of their fans; and WHEREAS, several members of the Mercer Bears football team were recognized for their outstanding performances, including TJ Moore, who was named a unanimous All-American by the FCS Athletic Directors Association; Brayden Manley, who was named to the second team of the Stats Perform FCS All-America team; Myles Redding, who was named to the second team of the Stats Perform FCS All-America team; and Brayden Smith, who was named to the third team of the Stats Perform FCS All-America team; and WHEREAS, the success of the Mercer Bears football program brings pride to Mercer University, including its students, faculty, and alumni, as well as the greater Macon-Bibb community, highlighting the values of discipline, sportsmanship, and perseverance. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body commend the Mercer Bears football team for their exceptional 2024 season, their Southern Conference championship, and their inspiring contributions to the community and collegiate athletics. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of this body recognize Coach Mike Jacobs for his leadership in his first year as head coach, the players for their dedication and hard work, and Mercer University for its ongoing commitment to athletic and academic excellence. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to Coach Mike Jacobs, the Mercer Bears football team, and Mercer University. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution formally commends the Mercer Bears football team for winning the 2024 Southern Conference championship and reaching the NCAA Division I FCS playoff quarterfinals. ### Plain-language summary This resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives honors Mercer University's football team for its 2024 season, in which the Bears finished 11-3 overall, went 7-1 in Southern Conference play to win the conference title, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs under first-year head coach Mike Jacobs. It also notes the team went undefeated at home and highlights several players who earned All-America recognition. The resolution commends the team, recognizes Coach Jacobs and the players, and acknowledges Mercer University. It directs the Clerk of the House to prepare copies of the resolution for distribution to the coach, the team, and the university. It does not create any new law, funding, or requirement. ### What it does - Formally commends the Mercer Bears football team for its 11-3 record and 2024 Southern Conference championship. - Recognizes head coach Mike Jacobs for his leadership in his first year and the players for their performance. - Acknowledges Mercer University for its commitment to athletic and academic excellence. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to prepare and distribute copies of the resolution to the coach, team, and university. ### Who it affects This resolution directly names the Mercer Bears football team, head coach Mike Jacobs, individual players recognized for awards, and Mercer University, including its students, faculty, and alumni, as well as the Macon-Bibb community connected to the school. ### Why it matters The resolution carries no legal or financial effect; it is a symbolic honor. Its practical impact is limited to public recognition of the team's achievements and the distribution of official copies to the coach, players, and university as keepsakes. ### Key provisions - The resolution's whereas clauses recount the Bears' 11-3 overall record and 7-1 Southern Conference record, including an undefeated 7-0 home record. - Names four players recognized on All-America teams: TJ Moore, Brayden Manley, Myles Redding, and Brayden Smith. - The first resolving clause commends the team for the season, championship, and community contributions. - The second resolving clause recognizes Coach Mike Jacobs and the players specifically. - The final resolving clause directs the Clerk of the House to distribute copies of the resolution to Coach Jacobs, the team, and Mercer University. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-02-26) - Last action: House Read and Adopted (2025-02-26) - Sponsors: Tangie Herring, Anissa Jones, Matt Reeves, Clint Crowe, Soo Hong - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70873 > The history, votes, and amendments (131 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr410.md?full=1