Andy Whittier's Journey from ISU to Team USA

As part of Idaho State University's yearlong 125th birthday celebration, ISU is featuring stories of notable alumni throughout the years. 

One day in 2020, while doing some midday doomscrolling, Andy Whittier saw a sponsored ad that would change his life: “USA Bobsled-Skeleton Virtual Tryout. Send us your numbers.” 

Thanks to Cool Runnings, Whittier knew what bobsled was, but not skeleton. Taking a chance, he sent in numbers from his ISU football days and got invited to Park City, Utah, for a 2-week fast-track training and trial run. A month later, Whittier was on his way to a life-changing career as a world-class skeleton racer. 

“This dream didn’t even come across my mind, until I saw an ad on social media. It’s taken my life on a great trajectory,” he said. Going from knowing virtually nothing about skeleton to flying down an icy track 3 inches off the ground at 75-77 miles per hour in just 2 weeks, Whittier’s path to Olympic training is certainly unique. 

Following a friend's invitation to go to ISU Football’s walk-on try-outs, Whittier didn’t think he stood a chance. He was surprised to learn that he was the only one from the group invited back for spring training with the team. While at ISU, Whittier played as a defensive back, attended classes, and worked multiple jobs to keep on top of his finances.

His junior year, all of this became too much to balance. On the day he planned to tell his coach that he couldn’t afford to go to school full-time anymore, he was offered a scholarship. Whittier said those were the “best 5 minutes of [his] life…it was a crazy 5 minutes, but best 5 minutes.” 

After graduating with a Bachelor's in Business Management and Marketing in Fall 2018, his hopes of playing in the NFL or CFL (Canadian Football League) didn’t pan out. So, thinking his own athletic career was over, he decided to help coach Pocatello High School’s football team to stay involved in sports, and eventually found a marketing job at Lookout Credit Union. 

“I had the next 20 years of my life planned out,” he said. 

Whittier was working for Lookout Credit Union when he was invited to try skeleton. His supervisors encouraged him to chase his dreams and allowed him to work remotely while he was in Utah. 

He kept training, and eventually got an offer he couldn’t turn down. About two years ago, Andy was offered summer housing in Lake Placid, New York, where he would train full-time with the US Olympic Bobsled-Skeleton Team. 

Whittier hadn’t even considered the possibility of going to the Olympics this year, but he knew he would be watching and cheering his teammates on. In the end, however, he wasonly hundredths of a second away from being the 2nd man going to the games this year.

Team USA has opened many doors for Whittier. Not only did it introduce him to skeleton, but it has given him the chance to keep competing and a team that is more than just a team; it’s a family.

“I’m here to push them, and for them to push me,” he said. This is the accountability part of Team USA that I’d die and live for…At the end of the day, I’m going to be just as happy for my teammates on the podium as I would expect them to be for me.” 

Throughout his experiences, Whittier has remained grateful to those who have helped him along the way. Whittier attributed his desire to keep going in sports to Kam Yancy, who was his position coach while playing ISU football. He said it’s because of Yancy that he wanted to keep moving forward in sports, in competition, and in life. 

Dave Spillit has also had an immense impact on Whittier’s life. 

“He was an absolute father figure to me. Just the way he treated us as kids, treated us growing up, showed me the type of man I want to be,” he said. “And the values he instilled in us from 10 years old to 18, and the expectations that we still had coaching under him: incredible. And that’s very much the reason I am the way I am, because of him and his family. They are so supportive of me. I would not have been able to accomplish a lot in my life without him and his family.”

Since he moved to Lake Placid, sponsors have become increasingly important to Andy, and he is very grateful for each one he has. With consistent year-round training, it’s difficult for Team USA Athletes to make enough money to support their athletic endeavors, and sponsorships make this easier. 

A lot of his sponsors are local. Cole Chevrolet was one of his first sponsors, and they still support him. Whittier’s biggest sponsor is Hooligans. They give him 100% of the proceeds from the fundraiser nights they do for him, all to support his Olympic journey.

Every single one of Whittier’s sponsors has a sticker on the bottom of his sled. If you look for them, you’ll see the logos of local businesses, drawing his journey right back home, right back to Pocatello. 

More than anything else, Andy is all about helping people chase their dreams, achieve what they can, and have amazing experiences. Whether he’s cheering on his teammates, and pushing them to improve, or answering questions, he always wants to make a difference.

One of his biggest goals right now is to get “Bengals on Ice!” He knows that “our university has amazing people,” who are capable of achieving incredible things. He wants to show the Bengals off to the world. Andy wants to have “a Bengal Sled represent us in the ‘29 World Championships…and the 2034 [Olympic] Games in Park City.” He wants to compete for the US as a Bengal, riding a sled designed and built by Bengals. “We’ve got 4 years to prototype, and 8 years to become the fastest sled developers in the nation,” he says, asking for help from those of us here now. 

Whittier wants to be involved with the university; he wants us to join him in doing amazing things and showing the world what we’ve got. He is always there for his team, knows they’re there for him, and that none of us can do this alone. He stands up and pushes through when things get hard, and helps everyone else to, as well.

Andy Whittier is a true Bengal who not only shines himself, but helps others to do the same. 

For more information about ISU's 125th Anniversary, visit isu.edu/125years/.