Alumni Spotlight: Jan Sumner ’74

A Second Chance, Then a Third: How Jan Sumner ’74 A Second Chance Into a Lifetime of Impact

Sumner arrived at MSU Denver, then Metro State, in 1968 after a severe car wreck derailed his original college plans. The recovery was long. Life intervened. He married, began working and needed a university that could accommodate real-world responsibilities.

Metro State did exactly that.

“It was a working student’s place,” Sumner said. “It accommodated my schedule. The professors understood that students had jobs, families and responsibilities.”

With the help of Irv Brown, a legendary figure in Metro State athletics, Sumner enrolled in the recreation and physical education program. He played baseball, paid his tuition through opportunity rather than privilege, and kept moving steadily toward his degree.

Six years after first enrolling, Sumner earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1974.

Lessons From the Game

Baseball has shaped Sumner’s worldview since his youth, when he threw “heat” at George Washington High School and later at Colorado State College in Greeley, now the University of Northern Colorado.

Though his playing days ended earlier than expected, baseball never left him.

After years as an entrepreneur, founding and running an insurance inspection company for nearly four decades, Sumner found himself back on the field in his late 40s. That return led to an unlikely and unforgettable chapter: six seasons throwing batting practice for the Colorado Rockies.

The experience became the foundation for his first book, “Fat Pitch: My Six Seasons with the Colorado Rockies,” which chronicles life behind the scenes of Major League Baseball. The book launched what Sumner calls his “second act.” Today, he is the author of ten books, ranging from baseball memoirs to historical biographies and fiction.

A Calling Beyond the Field

In 2017, another unexpected door opened.

A letter arrived at Sumner’s church from a man incarcerated at Sterling Correctional Facility. It was a letter of desperation. The pastor handed it to Sumner. He responded. That correspondence became a relationship, and that relationship became a calling.

Today, Sumner is the founder of Homeward Bound Prison Ministry, a nonprofit dedicated to walking alongside incarcerated individuals before and after release. He mentors men across multiple Colorado facilities, helps them prepare for reentry and encourages them to tell their stories, often through writing.

“One thing they struggle with is forgiving themselves,” Sumner said. “They can come to believe God forgives them. But they don’t know how to forgive themselves.”

Through writing, conversation and trust built over time, Sumner helps participants reclaim their sense of worth. None of this work is transactional. There is no promise of reward, no expectation of outcome. It’s work rooted squarely in restoring dignity, unlocking voice and creating pathways forward for people society often overlooks.

Education That Echoes Across Generations

Sumner’s connection to MSU Denver did not end with his diploma.

Two of his grandchildren have already graduated from the university and another is preparing to do so, with more are considering following in their footsteps. For Sumner, that multi-generational connection reflects the institution’s enduring impact.

“MSU Denver was a godsend,” he said. “I couldn’t have gone anywhere else at that point in my life. And now I see it doing the same thing for my family.”

Still Writing the Next Chapter

At 80, Sumner shows no signs of slowing down. He continues to write, mentor, speak to criminology classes and amplify the voices of incarcerated writers through digital platforms.

Looking back, he sees a pattern that was invisible to him at the time.

“Every time I thought something was over, something else opened,” he said. “You just have to be willing to step through the door.”

That philosophy is what he would tell today’s students: don’t let fear stop you from trying.

It’s advice shaped by baseball, sharpened by hardship and first made possible by MSU Denver.

Listen to Jan’s episode of BirdTalk