Jeff Siembieda joined ESPN in 2006 as the executive director of the New Mexico Bowl, a college football bowl game owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN. The game is played annually at University Stadium on the campus of the University of New Mexico. Initially involved in the creation of the event, Siembieda is responsible for overseeing all aspects locally for the game. Siembieda is also a member of the Bowl Season executive committee, starting his service with that leadership group in July 2023.  

Siembieda is a veteran of the New Mexico sports scene and currently co-hosts a daily three-hour sports talk show, “The Opening Drive,” on 610 The Sports Animal in Albuquerque. Siembieda was honored as the New Mexico Sportscaster of the Year for 2015, 2016 and 2021 by the National Sports Media Association (NSMA), and the show has been recognized as the best sports talk show 10 times – 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022 – by the New Mexico Broadcasters Association. He can also be heard calling play-by-play of various sports events around the state. 

Before joining ESPN, Siembieda served as Deputy Director of the New Mexico Sports Authority, a position he was appointed to by Governor Bill Richardson in May 2005. 

Siembieda came to New Mexico in August 1996 as the weekend sports anchor/reporter at KOAT-TV and was promoted to sports director in May 1997, a position he held until 2001. At KOAT, Siembieda was honored by the New Mexico Broadcasters Association and Associated Press for excellence in sports casting and reporting. 

In 2001, Siembieda joined the New Mexico Scorpions hockey club as Vice President of Media and Entertainment. That year, the Scorpions were recognized by the Central Hockey League as the top marketing franchise in the league. In January 2002, Siembieda joined KRQE-TV as the weekend news anchor and eventually was anchor of the morning newscasts through February 2005. He also hosted “The Big Show,” a daily, two-hour sports talk show on 1310 The Ticket in Albuquerque from 2005-07. 

Before arriving in New Mexico, Siembieda worked in television and radio in San Diego, Yakima and Tri-Cities, Wash. A native of Tarzana, Calif., Siembieda received a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism in 1988 from San Diego State. 

Siembieda is also actively involved in youth sports. From 2001-05, he coached basketball at Madison Middle School in Albuquerque and spent the 2004 and 2005 summers coaching and traveling with New Mexico’s elite AAU U-14 and U-15 boys basketball teams. He has served on the board of directors for the Presbyterian Ear Institute and has been involved with other charitable organizations over the years. In 2007, he was honored with the Ambassador Award by the City of Albuquerque and in 2016 received a memorial recognition on the floor of the New Mexico Senate.  

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