Graduate Assistant Spotlight: Levi Stuart

Boise State Athletics is spotlighting the graduate assistants who work to help each department within athletics run smoothly while obtaining their master's degree. These features will tell the stories of graduate assistants while also giving information on what each department within Boise State Athletics does.

Levi Stuart is a second-year graduate assistant (GA) working in the equipment department at Boise State Athletics while pursuing a degree in the Master of Athletic Leadership (MAL) program.

"Our department oversees all of the inventory for each individual's assigned teams, so for me that's men's and women's tennis and women's soccer," said Stuart. "Our goal is to accommodate them as best as we can, so we take care of the day-to-day stuff. This includes laundry or getting student-athletes any extra pairs of clothing or shoes needed."

Each day differs depending on what the student-athletes or coaching staff need, but game day responsibilities are fairly consistent.

For women's soccer, Stuart's responsibilities on match days include taking care of any needs officials may have, such as having shower towels and pumping soccer balls to a specific PSI, laying out the team's uniforms and making sure there are soccer balls set up around the pitch for prematch warmups. He also stays around before game time in case any student-athletes need new cleats or socks, assisting with warmup in the meantime.

"We are incredibly grateful to have Levi as a member of our team, I don't know what we would have done for the soccer season without him," said his supervisor, assistant athletic director of equipment operations, Matthew Sterling. "Levi had everything ready to go before I even got here. He's a rock star, and without graduate assistants these things wouldn't get done as quickly. GAs make everyone's lives easier, and our support staff and the coaching staffs love him."

Stuart also occasionally travels with the women's soccer team during its season. His responsibilities on the road include picking up food orders, running errands, charging the GPS trackers, distributing the trackers and collecting them postmatch. He also makes sure to pack extra cleats and clothing for the team in the event of an emergency.

"Levi has changed the landscape in terms of our staff's structure," said Boise State Soccer Head Coach Jim Thomas. "The level of attention to detail he brings and willingness to evolve the role to suit his passions, all while fitting into our program's culture seamlessly has added a facet to how we serve our student-athletes that simply did not exist before his arrival."

Boise State soccer is currently in the middle of its 2024 spring schedule, with its first match at Boas Soccer Complex set for Saturday, March 30 at 2 p.m., against Snow College. Admission to each of Boise State's home spring matches will be free.

Prior to Boise State, Stuart worked at Northwest Nazarene as an assistant coach and director of basketball operations. He was responsible for all of the team's travel, equipment and the day-to-day to administrative work. He decided to take a chance on getting his master's degree through the MAL after applying on a whim for the equipment GA position.

"The MAL program is something that I've really enjoyed learning and being a part of," said Stuart. "It isn't just your general education. It goes more in depth in the world of sports, showing you how to grow as a person and leader, through real life experience."

After his time working in Boise State Athletics and obtaining his MAL degree, Stuart wants to work for another Division I program or professional league, such as the National Basketball Association (NBA) or Major League Soccer (MLS).

"Some of my best memories here have been being able to spend time around the student-athletes because of the positive energy they bring to Boise State," said Stuart. "I've also enjoyed being able to interact with all the staff members from different departments without feeling like there's a big bridge I need to cross over in order to talk to people. We all strive for one goal and that's taking care of our student-athletes."

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