Jesse Kurtz joined the Mountain West in October 2012 as the Executive Producer of the Mountain West Network. In his role at the MW, Kurtz is responsible for supervising the creation of unique audio and visual content for the Conference’s enhanced digital network. In addition to serving as the network’s anchor, Kurtz produces weekly news content highlighting the conference and its member institutions.
Kurtz comes to the Mountain West after spending more than 15 years as a television sports anchor/reporter, including ten years at the CBS affiliate (KKTV) in Colorado Springs. During his time at KKTV, Kurtz was responsible for the planning and assignment of stories for the sports department, as well as providing all of the sports content for the station’s website.
Widely respected by his peers, Kurtz has been recognized on a local, regional and national level with the following awards:
Three-time Emmy Award Winner (2014, 2015, 2016)
National Edward R. Murrow Award recipient for Sports Reporting (2010)
National Telly Award – Sports Feature Story Telling (2020)
National Cynopsis Sports Media Award – Social Media Video (2015)
Seven-time regional, Edward R. Murrow Award recipient for Sports Reporting (2005,’07-’10, ’12-’13)
Five-time Best Sportscaster the Colorado Broadcaster’s Association (2005-’06 ’08-’09, ’11)
17-time Associated Press Award winner (2004-11)
Colorado High School Athletic Directors Association Media Person of the Year (2006, 2012)
Best TV Sportscaster by Colorado Springs Independent (2006)
Society of Professional Journalists National Mark of Excellence for Sports Reporting (1999)
In addition to his duties at KKTV, Kurtz has worked as a sideline reporter for nationally-televised NFL games and college basketball contests, and a color analyst for college football radio broadcasts. From 2007-10, he served as a voter for college football’s Harris Interactive Poll. He is also active in the Southern Colorado community, volunteering his time for local charities and the Sportswomen of Colorado where he has served on the state selection committee for the annual awards banquet. Jesse has also served as the host for the Ms. Colorado pageant in Denver.
Before joining KKTV, Kurtz spent two years as a sports reporter and anchor at KCAU-TV in Sioux City, Iowa. A native of Arvada, Colo., Kurtz graduated Cum Laude from Colorado State University in 2000 with a double-major in Technical Journalism and Speech Communication.
Kurtz currently resides in Monument with his wife, Sjahna, two sons, Kellen and Braden and their dog, Champ. In his spare time, Jesse coaches a competitive youth baseball team in Colorado.