Finding home on THE BLUE as a walk-on and a degree to nurture his passion

Koby Tryggestad’s knowledge about Boise upon his arrival to campus in the fall of 2019 was minimal but he was confident the City of Trees would be a much safer place to pursue a degree in fine arts than his hometown of East Palo Alto, Calif., once dubbed the “murder capital of the United States”.

Tryggestad was lured to Boise State by the opportunity to develop his skills as a digital content creator.

It was during his junior year at Menlo-Atherton High School, Tryggestad picked up a video camera and began to chronicle the lives of his friends and family. As a member of the school’s football team, he also began to capture behind-the-scenes moments of his teammates that he would post online.  His videos became so popular, he was commissioned to create weekly hype videos, and available content was plentiful. During his senior year, the football team became the first team in the school’s history to win a championship.

In Tryggestad, Boise State would acquire a promising content creator and HS championship-caliber long snapper.

After a few months on campus, Tryggestad introduced himself to the Bronco football coaches, landed a tryout, and made the team as a long snapper, one of the most unheralded positions in football but a key contributor to special teams.

In his first season with the team, the Broncos went 5-2 and became bowl-eligible for a 23rd straight season.

The following year, Tryggestad made the hard decision to step away from playing football but still had a desire to be part of the team.  It was then he discovered an opportunity to work in the athletics creative services department as a digital content creator for the football team.

He was responsible for conceptualizing and collaborating on all aspects of creative production, from shooting video through post production, for social media, in-venue video boards and television shows.

“Right away, Koby showed maturity beyond his age and experience,” said Dominic Shelden, Assistant Athletic Director for Creative Services. “He took pride in the work he was doing, but never had an ego about it. His willingness to improve and take feedback from people across the department spoke volumes about his commitment not only to the football program, but to Boise State University at large.”

The following year, Coach Avalos asked him to come back on the team.

Now, he has the best of both worlds, a member of the football team and creative services.

During the 2022-23 academic year, Koby expanded his coverage from football to cover many of the 18 Bronco sport programs, working around 8-10 hours each week and making the most of the opportunities presented to him.

“The excitement and pride he took in covering our Olympic sports teams is exactly what we look for in our interns and student-workers,” said Shelden. “Koby’s quiet confidence and work ethic made it clear that he’s going to be successful not just in content creation, but whatever path in life he chooses.”

And his work is being recognized.

Tryggestad was recently named a finalist for Outstanding In-venue Video for the 2022 Boise State Football Intro. The winners will be announced at the 15th-annual Sports Video Group’s media awards at the end of May.

Tryggestad will continue to chronicle the stories of Boise State student-athletes as he begins a master of arts in fine arts this fall.

“Isn’t that the dream of any college student,” asked Tryggestad. “Graduate with a degree that prepares you for a job you actually like and that makes you happy?”

…and a place to call home.

Tryggestad was one of 45 student-athletes who participated in Boise State’s commencement ceremony held May 5, 2023.