POCATELLO — The man sitting on the red couch in Chick-fil-A’s new commercial may look familiar.

Dr. Shane Hunt, dean of Idaho State University’s College of Business, is featured in the commercial that recently began airing nationally.

“I’ve seen it on the NBA playoffs, Major League Baseball and ESPN,” Hunt said, adding that he was watching a Los Angeles Dodgers versus San Diego Padres game the first time he heard his own voice during one of the breaks. “My daughter saved (the commercial) to DVR out of excitement.”

Hunt is a big fan of the chicken sandwich chain and, it turns out, the Chick-fil-A staff in Jonesboro, Arkansas, is a big fan of his.

In fact, they give Hunt a special farewell a year ago when he moved from Arkansas to Pocatello to work at ISU.

“He has visited our drive-thru for a Chick-fil-A original chicken sandwich (with no pickles), fruit cup, and a medium Diet Dr. Pepper, every day (except the days he had meetings),” the Chick-fil-A Turtle Creek restaurant staff posted on their Facebook page at that time. “He rolls through our drive-thru making everyone smile while cheering us on. Little does he know about the impact he has had on all of us.”

The new commercial highlights the farewell drive-thru party in which Chick-fil-A employees showered Hunt with message-covered poster boards and gifts, including a red, wrestling-style belt with the words “Chick-fil-A Turtle Creek Champion.”

“I was so emotional seeing the signs and seeing the people,” Hunt said in the commercial, adding that after the many trips he had made to the restaurant, the gesture meant the world to him.

Hunt visited the restaurant several times a week while he was working as a professor and dean in Arkansas, and he got to know many of those who worked there.

Sometimes they would talk about sports or family while he waited for his sandwich.

“You see them and get to know their names and they’re wonderful people. They hired a number of my students to work there,” Hunt said, adding that the latter would update him about their upcoming marriages or plans to go to graduate school. “They had great food and great people. It’s special (to have this) captured forever in this format.”

Now that he’s in Idaho, Hunt honors his new state in the commercial by giving a Chick-fil-A Turtle Creek manager a sack of potatoes to make waffle fries with.

While he can’t go to the Turtle Creek restaurant anymore, Hunt says he’s excited to try out the new Chick-fil-A that will open soon at ISU.

“I love chicken sandwiches and I love Diet Dr. Pepper,” Hunt said, adding that he also appreciates the kind service he always receives at Chick-fil-A. “They have really great food and really nice people. That’s something that has kept me coming back again and again.”

The new Chick-fil-A commercial can be viewed at youtu.be/o-L7sRFapcI.