Where Are They Now: Jay Whittle – Media Executive at Wigan Athletic

A UCFB graduate has gone on to work for his boyhood club, forging a sports industry career in the club’s media department.

Jay Whittle, who studied BA (Hons) Multimedia Sports Journalism, is now the media executive at Wigan Athletic, where he started working shortly after graduating.

Speaking about his role, he said: “I was really keen to learn and develop at the football club I support, and I was lucky enough to be offered the role of media assistant where I covered the academy for multiple years, and it was a real fun experience. I got to work with some of the players who went on to play for the first team. 

“Then from there, I went on to become media executive, probably about two years ago, and I’ve been in that role since.”

He added: “It’s a real challenge. There’s different obstacles you have to face working at a football club, but my time at UCFB prepared me for that and I’m really grateful for the time I spent there.”

Wigan Athletic is one of the many clubs across the Premier League and Football League where multiple UCFB graduates are employed. Find out more about a handful of the people who went from studying at UCFB to working at The Latics.

Speaking about this, Jay said: “I think it should be a real proud moment for everyone connected to UCFB, really, to have graduates within the professional game and especially with multiple of us being at a club doing different roles from hospitality, commercial, media and the community side of things, as well.”

He added, talking about his time at UCFB: “I really enjoyed that one-to-one interaction with the tutors; they do really care about you. At some universities, you’ll feel a bit like just a number, but it was really good to have that interaction.”

He finished: “If you’re studying at UCFB, it’s an absolute must to get work experience while you’re there. It’s so crucial. There’s so many students who’ll leave university with the same qualification as you. You need to stand out from the rest.”

Learn more about the many places across football and sport where UCFB graduates have gone on to score their career goals.