Miss Universe judge Emily Austin: I left college over Super Bowl job

Emily Austin, a 21-year-old sports and entertainment host, had her phone on “do not disturb” mode during a recent tour of the United Nations. When she came back online she had three missed calls from a number that wasn’t in her contacts.

Austin spent three years at Hofstra but left the school because she found the school to be ironically unaccommodating with her career pursuits.

Her first thought upon exiting the U.N. was that the missed calls were spam. Nevertheless, it turned out to be Michelle Welch, a producer who she had previously worked with in connection with LiveXLive and MTV, asking her if she wanted to be a judge for the now-ongoing Miss Universe pageant.

“I was like yeah, of course,” Austin told The Post.

She had her agent, Jamie Stein of Wasserman, read over the contract, and quickly accepted the position.

The judging position actually does not carry a salary, so as to limit potential biases and conflicts of interest, but does have what Austin characterizes as a “quite generous” per diem and various gifts.

Judging entails interviewing 86 different contestants in whirlwind lightning rounds. That was followed by a preliminary competition where the hopefuls are judged in swimsuits and gowns. The top 15 advanced to the finals, which take place Saturday night in New Orleans, airing on Roku.

It’s a weeklong responsibility for the judges, but the contestants were there for an extra week, to make sure that “jet lag” did not affect their performance, Austin explained.

Austin launched her career when she was 18 years old, interviewing a number of athletes and entertainers on Instagram Live in a show called “Daily Vibes with Emily.” A producer from MTV reached out because he loved her interview with then-Knicks rookie Immanuel Quickley, and invited her to audition amongst about 40 others for a show called “Music Lives On.” She made the cut.

This led to another successful audition for a celebrity boxing event called “Battle of the Platforms” which had various YouTube and TikTok influencers fighting live. Lil Baby, DJ Khaled and Lil Yachty performed.

“At this point I realized God just loved me, and this might be something that would be worth investing into a career,” she said.

Austin described it as a “domino effect” how one gig has led to another. She works as a Puma brand ambassador, working with lines ranging from NBA player Kyle Kuzma’s to rapper J. Cole’s. She has an NBA talk show launching in the coming weeks.

It was during Super Bowl week last year that she realized her present goals were at odds with Hofstra’s constrictions.

“I think it’s stilly to not accommodate somebody for doing outstanding things,” she said. “I remember telling my professor that I was going out to L.A. to work as a freelancer for SiriusXM during the Super Bowl week. He was like, ‘Okay, well I’m failing you.’ I was like, ‘What?’ He goes, ‘You missed these four classes, I don’t care if it’s the Super Bowl. Unless it’s for a funeral, I’m not gonna accept you missing this much class.’”

She said that her request to observe the classes through Zoom was denied, and that she failed the class and reported the matter to the dean. Ultimately, she left Hofstra and plans to finish her degree elsewhere in an online program.

“Let me be real: I don’t care about my GPA. I’m trying to just graduate college, get my diploma — and do what I’m already doing,” she said. “Hofstra’s telling me I should go to class four days a week, go to X many classes and take a break on my career. College is supposed to prepare you for your career, not stop you from it. Hofstra didn’t seem to understand that, or even accommodate me at all.”