A New Chapter for Jay Tust
Craig Lawson
Ashton Jeanty…Alexander Mattison…Leighton Vander Esch.
These former Boise State Broncos are among the best to don the Blue and Orange.
For Jay Tust, they all have one thing in common.
“I remember a game for each one of those guys where they left everything on the field,” Tust said. “Coaches talk about it and those guys lived it.”
Tust, the former KTVB Sports Director, is in his first year as Boise State Athletics Director of Live and Digital Shows. Yesterday, Boise State launched Bronco Studios Live Presented by Ford.
The show will air each week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4 p.m. MT and stream live on Boise State Athletics’ YouTube (@broncossports). It will also be available on demand on BroncoSports.com and the Bronco Sports mobile app.
Tust, an award-winning sports anchor, has spent nearly a decade and a half in the Treasure Valley. He and his guests on the show will take an in depth look at Boise State Athletics, something that is exciting, but not entirely new to the Tacoma, Washington native.
“The way the job was sold to me was to be my authentic self,” Tust said. “I’m not an overly negative person, let alone sports broadcaster. So, I have been my authentic self for the last 14 years. When something does come up where I do have to be negative, I think I will have credibility because I’ve never been one to jump into the deep end just to make a big splash.”
While Tust is a household name in the Boise media market, he is not an overnight success. In fact, it was not until his college years that sports broadcasting became a reality.
A standout infielder on the baseball diamond at Stadium High School, Tust was selected in the 28th round by the Cincinnati Reds in 2002. He spent two years playing baseball in junior college before hanging up his spikes and enrolling at Washington State University in fall 2004.
“Once I stopped playing baseball, I knew I still had to be around sports just because honestly I didn’t know how I would function not being around sports, Tust said.”
After briefly considering kinesiology and physical therapy, he turned to sports broadcasting becoming involved with Cable 8, a student run station at Washington State.
“I knew Washington State had a really strong broadcast school,” Tust said. “It didn’t take me too long to realize this is it. I still got to be around sports, to go to practice, being around players, interview coaches.”
One of those coaches was Bill Doba, the head football coach of the Cougars at that time. Washington State was coming off three-straight, 10-win seasons and one day Tust showed up a student reporter and what he quickly learned was a closed practice.
When Tust and a fellow student reporter were spotted by Doba, rather than have them leave practice, the coach bent the rules and allowed them to stay. He also spent time talking to the aspiring broadcasters and Tust was hooked.
In the summer prior to his final semester at Washington State, Tust had summer internship at FOX Sports Northwest (now ROOT Sports). On the first day of his internship, he was assigned to interview reigning NFL MVP Shaun Alexander at the Seattle Seahawks’ minicamp.
“That was every day at FOX Sports Northwest,” Tust said. “I fell even more in love with the idea of wanting to be a sports broadcaster.”
Tust is quick to credit those around a him who took time to invest in his dream.
“I had tremendous mentors, whether it be on camera people Angie Mentink, Brad Adam, Cara Capuano or on the production side Ayden Martin, Ross Miller, Pike Parker,” Tust recalled. “They were just awesome people I learned so much from.”
A fall 2006 graduate of Washington State, Tust was on track to become a producer at FOX Sports Northwest when he received a phone call from Matt Loveless at KLEW TV in Lewiston, Idaho. The phone call came with a job offer to be the sports director at the station.
“I figured if I ever wanted to take a shot at being an on-air personality, this was my chance,” Tust said. “So, I moved to Lewiston, Idaho to make $9 an hour.”
Working at KLEW gave Tust an opportunity to be his own camera man, editor while delivering a nightly sports report to the community.
“I wanted to bring the big market standard I learned in Seattle to Lewiston and I think I did that to some extent,” Tust said.
A year a half later, Tust applied for a position at KTVB and did not get it. Then, in July 2011, a sport anchor/reporter position came open at KTVB and this time he was hired.
Since then, covering Boise State Athletics has been a major part of Tust’s life and something he relishes due to the people he has met and had the privilege to interact with over the years.
“Brett Rypien was always a joy to talk to,” Tust said. “Avery Williams had so much respect for the game of football that he made you want to respect the game more. Alexander Teubner is super blue collar. He came to Boise State as a walk-on and left as an all-conference caliber player and a team captain.”
Bronco Studios Live Presented by Ford will give Tust the chance to tell the stories of all sports at Boise State.
“When it comes to what people care about, it is certainly football highlights,” Tust said. “But, I can get people to care about an emotional tie to a team, a player or a coach, that I love trying to find.”
Tust added, “Covering sports other than football provides balance and it is fair. Ratings are important, but I never tried to be too tied to them for what I should do and when I should do it because I felt what was in my heart was right.
"One of my fondest sports memories was watching (former Boise State standout and current assistant coach) Marisa Howard qualify for the Olympics last summer. I drove out to Eugene, Oregon for the USA Track and Field Championships and watched one of the coolest, most humble athletes I’ve ever covered establish herself as one of the premier steeplechasers in the world. Just knowing her journey and her amazing family, I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you I fought back tears as she crossed the finish line.”
Just like at his previous spots, Tust has a supporting cast.
“I cannot thank (Associate Athletic Director, External Affairs) Chris Kutz, (Senior Director, Bronco Studios), (Associate Clinical Professor and Esports Head Coach) Chris “Doc” Haskell Tyler Haak and (Assistant Director, Bronco Studios) Jonathan Palmer for their help,” Tust said.
When asked about what Bronco Studios Live Presented by Ford could be, Tust’s excitement was palpable in his response.
“I really care about the Boise community, even beyond Boise State,” Tust said. “But now I get to focus on Boise State Athletics. I think Boise State is on the right side of the cutting edge of what we are trying to do. It will also help revenue generation, which everybody needs to do.
“I want to continue to inform Bronco Nation, relate to the players and coaches, build a trusting, lasting relationship with both that is hopefully entertaining for both. From there, we’ll see where it goes.”
“When it comes to what people care about, it is certainly football highlights. But, I can get people to care about an emotional tie to a team, a player or a coach, that I love trying to find.”Jay Tust