WILLIAMSBURG— If you’ve ever streamed or attended a Tribe sporting event, chances are you’ve heard the voice of Jay Colley. Entering his 43rd year behind the mic with Tribe Athletics, Colley was recently named as a member of the Hampton Roads Sports Media Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
Colley, who grew up playing sports, also loved play-by-play action.
“When I was playing basketball in the driveway, I would mouth that I was passing the ball to different players on the teams I was following. I would be doing play-by-play, even as I was playing by myself in the driveway. As a kid, I remember vividly going to sleep with the baseball games at night with a transistor radio and the earpiece in my ear. I’ve had a love for it all my life,” Colley says.
After playing sports in middle and high school, he said knew he wasn’t good enough to play in college, so he focused on the broadcasting angle.
“The next best thing, if I was going to stay involved in athletics, would be broadcasting them,” Colley said.
So he headed off to Middle Tennessee State University and graduated with a degree in mass communication.
In the mid-1980s, Colley began his broadcasting career with William & Mary. Throughout his 40-plus years with the Tribe, Colley has witnessed the collegiate athletics careers of many now-famous players. From Dallas Cowboys backup quarterback Stan Yagiello to current Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, Colley has been part of a lot of William & Mary sports history.
“You always remember the better seasons than you do the ones that are not so successful. I’ve often told people, it’s a lot more fun to broadcast winning games than it is losing games. I’ve been told over the years that folks can turn on the radio and tell pretty quickly if we’re winning or losing before I tell the score because of the inflection in my voice,” Colley said.
In 2003, Colley was awarded the title of honorary alumnus of the school. He is also the recipient of the Sixth Man Award, an honor given to him by Tribe men’s basketball for his dedication to the program. He has also been a finalist for the Bill Schwanke Award, which is given yearly to the National FCS Broadcaster of the Year.
In 2023, William & Mary Athletics surprised Colley by naming the radio broadcast booth at Zable Stadium after him.
Colley has had many memorable moments in Tribe Athletics history, but one he won’t forget is a 2000s-era football halftime show.
“I was interviewing Mike Tomlin shortly after he had won the Super Bowl and then I also had Jill Ellis, who had just won a World Soccer Title, on right after him. I knew that it probably wouldn’t get any bigger than that,” Colley recalls.
Colley will be enshrined alongside four others in the Hampton Roads Sports Media Hall of Fame at a ceremony in May, set to take place at Langley Speedway.
“If you look at past recipients, these are a bunch of professionals and I’m honored to be named among them. I often joke that I get paid to have the best seat in the house, but I am very humbled by this honor,” Colley said.
In addition to Colley, honorees include Brad Face, former sports anchor at WVEC; Woube Gebre, Norfolk State radio and TV broadcaster; Earle Hellen, a late golf writer and sports reporter for the Daily Press and Times-Herald; and Bill Leffler, a late sports writer and columnist for the Virginian-Pilot.
For more information on the Hampton Roads Sports Media Hall of Fame, visit hrsmhof.com.
