and it was the first time all of us had been in a room together,” Bagley said.ĭespite a rocky start, BYUSN became a quick hit with its fans. Host Spencer Linton didn’t have a co-host as the show approached. Coordinating producer (and occasional guest on the show) Ben Bagley’s first day was the day the show started – Labor Day of 2013.

“W ith everything that we do, you can see connections to what I learned at ESPN,” Minor said.ĭespite its ESPN influences and a seasoned hand guiding its creation, BYUSN got its start under chaotic circumstances. Minor isn’t afraid to acknowledge the connection either.

Most major sports fans could tell you about the similarities between BYUSN and ESPN programming. “ The charge I was really given was ‘do what you did at ESPN here for BYU.’ And I’ve taken that very literally,” Minor said. But with his background and experience, BYU Sports Nation (BYUSN) was born. Without Minor, an ESPN-veteran and former SportsCenter producer, the answer might have been no. The company had partnered with BYU Radio and was giving feedback about the station’s performance when the idea was born.Īccording to senior coordinating producer Mikel Minor, the feedback was “you know, we really like your radio station, but we’d like some more eclectic programming on there, and we’d specifically like some sports-oriented programming on there. It might seem odd, but the suggestion leading to the hit TV show came from satellite radio company Sirius XM. This is the second of a three-part series detailing BYU Sports Nation, a daily sports show on BYUtv and BYU Radio.īYU Sports Nation started with a simple suggestion.

Spencer Linton and Jarom Jordan host BYU Sports Nation.

Byu sportnation