Editor’s note: As part of a media transparency initiative, on May 8, 2017, the Collegian spent the last day of publishing of the year telling our readers about us. You can read more about the people behind our publication in the Editor’s Blog.  

Justin Michael is thrilled to be the inaugural sports director for the Rocky Mountain Collegian.

Justin has covered Colorado State athletics since 2015, working primarily as a beat reporter and weekly columnist. During that time, Justin’s regular coverage responsibilities included CSU football, along with both the men’s and women’s basketball programs. However, Justin has experience working with every major athletic program at CSU and the majority of the club sport programs.

Along with the Collegian, Justin also covers the Denver Broncos for the 5280 Sports Network. His previous publications include BSN Denver and The Broncos Wire of USA TODAY Sports Media Group.

Although Justin has always been passionate about working in athletics, he did not always know that he wanted to be a writer.

A native of Lakewood, Colo., Justin graduated from Bear Creek High School in 2013. For two-and-a-half years, Justin worked as an assistant in the CSU football coaching office under former Head Coach Jim McElwain and current Director of Football Operations Tom Ehlers.

After experiencing firsthand how fickle the world of college athletics can be and seeing many of his close friends leave for other programs around the country, Justin decided to make the jump to sports media.

Having worked on both sides of the athletic spectrum, Justin is hoping to bring a new perspective to the Collegian editorial board. One that focuses on all of the aspects of why we love sports, without compromising the truth.

Collegian sports director Justin Michael can be reached by email at jmichael@collegian.com or Twitter @JustinTMichael.