Meet Jay Kuntz, this week’s campus celebrity!
Jay Kuntz, a 24 year-old graduate student studying athletic administration and coaching, is more than just your typical WVU student. He is the graduate assistant for the WVU basketball team and has been working with Coach Huggins and his staff since they arrived at WVU in 2007. When he’s not busy rooting for the Mountaineers you can catch Jay cheering for The New York Nicks, Yankees, and Jets.
Q:What has been your favorite memory with WVU Basketball?
A: My favorite memory with WVU Basketball would be in 2010 when we won the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden against Georgetown. A ton of people ask why this was better than the Final 4 run that same year and although that was a very special time to, being from up north and knowing the tradition of the Big East and all the memories that went along with the Big East tournament and having a chance to celebrate on the floor of the Mecca of basketball in MSG was so special. This was the early years of my time here and I’m not sure I knew how important Mountaineer sports was to the people of West Virginia until the final horn sounded and Country Roads started playing all over the sound system at the Garden. When you looked into the stands you not only saw people celebrating and going wild but you saw tears running down the faces of many of the fans, and that was very important to me and really helped me understand what being part of Mountaineer Nation was all about.
Q:What are your plans for next year?
A: Next years plans are up in the air right now. I just got back from the Final 4 with our staff and it was an amazing time. Its an awesome networking event down there because all of the coaches from all over the country go there just to gain relationships and share stories from their past seasons. A lot of people are down there looking for jobs and opportunities to better their careers so as a young aspiring coach, I was trying to do the same. I’d love to be back under the right circumstances because I love our staff and this team that we currently have is going to be special I can promise you that. Regardless if I’m back next year or not it has been an amazing 7 years that I will never forget.
Q: What is the biggest perk of your job?
A: The biggest perk of my job is a tough one. I’d have to say besides dealing with the kids, I am fortunate to work with such a great staff. Obviously I work for a Hall of Fame head coach in Coach Huggins, but at the same time we have 3 other coaches on our staff that have been head coaches elsewhere at the D-1 level and just being able to gain knowledge from them that I never thought existed when I was a player is extremely rewarding and will be in my career down the line.
Q: What does being a Mountaineer mean to you?
A: Being a Mountaineer and part of Mountaineer Nation is extremely special. West Virginia has no pro sports teams so Mountaineer Athletics mean everything to the people of the state and a majority of the students that go here. People have this outside perspective of WV that to me isn’t true. I hate saying this, but people on the outside are always going to hate and to be honest, I love that because it makes it even better when we beat those other teams and teams that those people support and give them no other choice than to respect us.