“It gets to my core, what I do, and how much I enjoy play-by-play broadcasting,” Alan York, the Flames broadcaster at Liberty University, said.
Entering his third year as the play-by-play radio broadcaster for Liberty Athletics, York has become known to many as “The Voice of the Flames.” He broadcasts football and basketball games and serves as a director of the Flames Sports Network, the Liberty Flames official television and radio network. York kicked off the regular football season Saturday, Sept. 1, when the Flames headed to his home state of North Carolina to face Wake Forest.
York
York has helped grow both the Flames Sports Network and support for Liberty Flames Athletics, as the athletics program thrived under the direction of Jeff Barber, Liberty’s athletic director.
“I have great appreciation for Alan,” Barber said. “He has a very strong work ethic, but he has a tremendous passion for Liberty University, a passion for Liberty Athletics, for Flames Sports Network, the radio program.”
“He is a proactive thinker. He’s always thinking of ways to be better,” Barber said.
York’s thinking and innovative ways can be seen through different the techniques implemented at football games. This addition gives the Flames Sports Network radio broadcasts a more authentic feel and game experience, one where you can hear the quarterback make calls and “the pads crunch,” York said.
“One of the goals I had coming up here is to bring as much of the game in between the lines to our fans listening,” York said. “One thing we’ve kind of utilized is more microphones.”
From wireless microphones used to pick up captains’ calls during the coin toss, or microphones placed on the goal posts to hear players charging into the end zone, York and the broadcast team have worked to enhance fans experience.
“I’m just one person,” York said. “We have a great athletics department. Jeff Barber is phenomenal. Our radio crew is top-notch, our television production people. I’m just a small part of it. I might be the face of what goes on the radio, but I’ll be the first to deflect any type of accolades to [the Flames Sports Network broadcast] team. They make us go.”
Before moving to Liberty, York gained experience as a radio play-by-play broadcaster in the Big South at High Point University in North Carolina.
“Coming up [to Liberty], I always thought, ‘Wow, this would be a neat place to go to school.’ Not only because of the quality of athletics, but number one from a Christian standpoint,” York said. “Being Christian, it’s great being around other Christians.”
York is the fifth play-by-play broadcaster for Flames basketball and the fourth for football. He credits Jerry Edwards, who retired from full-time play-by-play work before York began working at Liberty, for a great foundation, saying that he has the “utmost respect” for Edwards.
York’s voice can be heard on the Liberty Flames flagship station, Victory FM, which can be found in the Lynchburg, Va., area on 88.3. However, York’s play-by-play can be heard on 32 other stations across Virginia and North Carolina and on the Internet nationwide.
Previously, York spent time at ISP (now IMG) in Winston-Salem, N.C. He also served as the director of broadcasting and media relations for the Single-A Winston-Salem Warthogs baseball team, which is an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.
He is a graduate of Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., where he was a four-time letter winner in football and baseball.