When Jonathan Biles arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2013, he knew two things: he wanted to work in sports media, and he wasn’t afraid to take a different path to get there. While many of his peers built their resumes through The Crimson White, the University’s storied student newspaper, Biles stacked up multiple paid writing gigs, covering football, basketball, gymnastics and just about any other sport he could cover.
It was an ambitious start for a freshman, but ambition has always been the throughline of Biles’ career. By pursuing freelance and online outlets such as Comcast Sports Southeast, Awful Announcing and Yellowhammer News, he positioned himself in press boxes and locker rooms that offered a front-row education in sports journalism.
“My career is one of luck and persistence in the world of sports media,” said Biles, though persistence seemed to outweigh luck in his telling.
Throughout his college years, Biles wrote about the Crimson Tide during the height of the Nick Saban era, when every Saturday felt like a national story. He covered the infamous Kick Six in Auburn, then returned the following year to see Alabama redeem themselves in the Iron Bowl. He traveled to New York to cover Amari Cooper at the Heisman ceremony, and he logged countless hours in press conferences and media rooms waiting for a player to walk in.
The defining moment of his college career came during The University of Alabama’s 2014 Pro Day. Among the sea of reporters, scouts and athletes, Biles introduced himself to Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt. It was a small, confident move that opened big doors. Klatt passed his resume along to Jacob Ullman, a senior vice president at Fox Sports, and that connection led to an internship at FS1 in Los Angeles. After graduating with a journalism degree in 2015, Biles was hired full time as a production assistant, marking the start of nearly a decade with one of the biggest names in sports broadcasting.
At Fox, Biles learned the grind of live television. He spent two seasons in the highlights department before working on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd”. By 2017, he had become a remote broadcast associate for Fox NFL and later NASCAR. The role placed him in the production trucks that were responsible for keeping live events on the air, managing graphics, overseeing logistics and handling countless details in high-pressure environments. “It taught me extreme responsibility and attention to detail under constant stress unlike anything I’d ever done,” he recalled.
The work he did also gave him a front-row seat to some of the biggest stages in American sports. Over seven seasons, he traveled to NFL stadiums and NASCAR tracks across the country. He was on the job through empty stadiums during the COVID-19 pandemic, through packed races where presidents were in attendance, and through the week-in, week-out grind of live television.
“It’s live TV and there’s no edit button,” Biles said. “Every game and race was unique. Traveling for a living and putting on live sporting events gives you real-world skills and introduces you to great people and unforgettable experiences.”
After nearly 10 years at Fox, Biles felt ready for a new challenge. In August 2024, he accepted the role of executive director of sports at The CW Network, a broadcaster that had only recently entered the live sports space. For Biles, it was both a leap and an opportunity.
In his first nine months, he oversaw college football and basketball broadcasts as well as the network’s growing NASCAR coverage. The work was different from his days in the truck, but no less rewarding.
Looking back, Biles credits C&IS for laying the groundwork for his success. Studying journalism, he said, forced students out of their comfort zones. Whether cold-calling sources, covering controversial stories or facing coaches and athletes after tough losses, the courses he took demanded resilience and adaptability. Professors such as Lars Anderson, Aaron Suttles and Tom Arenberg modeled what it meant to be both a working journalist and a mentor.
Just as important, Alabama itself provided unrivaled opportunities. With ESPN’s “College Gameday” regularly on campus and national coverage of football and basketball games, students were thrust into the center of the sports world. “UA gives students unparalleled access to national media outlets at all times and carries that cache around the country,” Biles noted. “Everyone in the sports world has a reaction to hearing that I went to Alabama.”
Even then, he kept two large Alabama logos visible behind his desk during Zoom calls. They were more than decoration; they were conversation starters.
Now, with more than a decade of experience in sports media, Biles has advice for the next generation. Work hard, know your stuff and treat people with respect. Relationships, he says, are the backbone of the industry, and mentors such as Ullman and longtime Fox producer Barry Landis shaped his path in invaluable ways.
“The vast majority of people are willing to help,” Biles said. “You just have to put yourself out there.”
As he helps guide The CW’s new sports ventures, Biles sees even more opportunities for students following in his footsteps. Compared with his college years, the university’s production programs, such as Crimson Tide Productions, are stronger, and UA is creating more avenues for students to break into sports media. “Alabama is even better positioned to train the future of sports media than it was when I was there,” Biles said. “There’s never been a better time to say that you graduated from Alabama. Roll Tide”