Jay Roberson

Jay Roberson (born c. 1972 in Birmingham) is a former football player, coach, and sports commentator, and also a candidate for Birmingham City Council District 7 in the 2009 Birmingham City Council election.

Roberson graduated from Homewood High School in 1990, quarterbacking the Patriots to the 5A State Championship game against Mobile Blount High School. He accepted a scholarship to Middle Tennessee State University, but transferred to Alabama A&M in 1992. He quarterbacked the Bulldogs for three years and was twice named to the All-SIAC team. He graduated in 1995 with a bachelor of arts and science in communications.

In 1996 Roberson returned to Homewood as a football and basketball assistant coach. He also pursued work in communications, producing and hosting a collage football magazine show and working as a color analyst for Fox Sports Network and Collegiate Sports Southeast. He has also participated in NBC 13's "Monday Morning Sports Buzz" and hosted Pat Sullivan's Coach's show for Samford University.

In 1999 Roberson was hired as an event director for the Bruno Event Team and Alabama Sports Foundation, helping organize SWAC Championship Games, Magic City Classics, SEC Baseball Tournaments, and Southeastern Conference gymnastics championships. He left in 2002 to form his won sports management and marketing firm, Top Ten Management. The same year he was named an assistant commissioner of the Southwest Athletic Conference, overseeing television, sponsorships and marketing. He helped negotiate a contract with ESPN to broadcast the SWAC football and basketball championship games nationally. He left to become associate director of athletics for Samford University and helped bring that school's first nationally-televised football game to ESPN in 2005.

Roberson has been active in community development projects, as well, helping found M-Set, Inc. and participating in the Birmingham Agenda Group for the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce. He is on the executive board of the PapaJohns.com Bowl, and he boards of the Central Alabama Youth Foundation, the Learning For Life Board for the Boy Scouts of American and the Civil Square Foundation Board. He and his wife, Nina have three children. They attend 6th Avenue Baptist Church.

References

• "Birmingham City Council District 7" (June 11, 2009) Birmingham Times