WVU Sports Hall of Fame

Inducted: 2023

Written by Bryan Messerly

Former WVU cager Jay Jacobs has been analyzing Mountaineer men's basketball games for nearly five decades on West Virginia University telecasts and more recently on the radio network.

The Morgantown native was initially hired by Paul Miller as a basketball analyst for Mountaineer Sports Network (MSN) television in 1977, forming a three-way pairing with the late Jack Fleming and Woody O'Hara. He also did television work for Home Team Sports, Creative Sports Marketing and ESPN during Sun Belt Conference games before transitioning primarily to radio in the mid-1990s when he teamed with Fleming, and then with veteran play-by-play man Tony Caridi starting with the 1996-97 season.

During his time broadcasting Mountaineer basketball, Jacobs has been on hand to analyze some of the greatest moments in WVU basketball history, including eight trips to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, an Elite Eight appearance in 2005 and a trip to the Final Four in 2010.

In all, Jacobs has been involved with 20 NCAA Tournament teams, not to mention the two appearances WVU made in 1959-60 when he was a player.

Through the years, Jacobs did radio and television work for the women's basketball program as well.

Jacobs, an all-state player and the all-time leading scorer at Morgantown High, was part of the Jerry West era at WVU – considered the "Golden Era" of Mountaineer basketball.

Following graduation, Jacobs coached four years at Union High in Benwood, West Virginia, and then several more at Thomas Johnson High in Frederick, Maryland, through the 1973-74 season when he left coaching for an administrative job in the Frederick County school system.

In 1996, he retired from his job as assistant principal at Ballenger Middle School to devote his full time to WVU basketball.

In addition to game broadcasts, Jacobs is also a popular contributor to the weekly basketball radio shows. During each season, the dedicated Jacobs faithfully makes the two-plus-hour, wintertime drive across the Maryland and West Virginia mountains to work basketball games and shows.

He earned his bachelor's degree from WVU in physical education in 1961 and a master's degree in secondary education with an emphasis in administration in 1962.

Jay and his wife, Bonnie, currently reside in Walkersville, Maryland. They have one son, John, and one daughter, the late Lisa Quick, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.