‘Flames Central,’ athletics staff earn Emmy Awards

Liberty University’s “Flames Central” sports broadcast program and the Liberty Athletics Creative Team received a combined three Emmys at the 68th Capital Emmy Awards on June 20 in Bethesda, Md.

“Flames Central,” hosted by Matt Warner and Emily Austen, features in-depth stories focusing on Liberty athletics and the intersection of faith and sports. The program received two Emmys for short-form content in the religion category after earning eight total nominations:

• “Pat Doney: An Adoption Story” (Kenneth Toews, producer)

Broadcasting graduate Pat Doney (’07), a TV anchor and reporter for NBC 5 in Dallas-Fort Worth, and his wife, Sheleena, talk about the path God has led their family on after adoption and caring for a child with special needs.

• “Solmaz Chadwell: The Journey” (Emily Austen, producer)

The wife of Flames Football Head Coach Jamey Chadwell shares her family’s story of fleeing Iran to America and her conversion to Christianity.

“Flames Central” has now won at least one Emmy for 11 consecutive years, with 17 coming in the last four years alone.

“These awards continue to show the level of the people we have here on our team and their ability to tell a compelling story,” Warner said. “This recognition also showcases the type of stories we have here within the Liberty community and the cool way God is working in peoples’ lives at Liberty. It’s a real special thing to be able to showcase those and bring those stories to our audience.”

Warner noted the increasingly competitive nature of the Capital Emmy Awards with Liberty’s submissions up against other collegiate teams, professional sports teams, and news stations in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. He said “Flames Central’s” focus on Liberty athletics ultimately provides an avenue for advancing the Great Commission.

“Our focus from Day One has been to show how God has worked in our lives, whether that’s to encourage our audience, inspire them, or maybe introduce them to the Gospel for the first time,” he said. “We hope our stories are able to do that. The hook may be sports at first, but hopefully you find something much greater within that as these people are able to share what the Lord is doing in their lives — in some cases through their sport or athletics — and how He has been able to teach them something or encourage them in some way. It’s been really cool over the years to see how many people have been impacted through these stories and through all these Liberty athletes and alums we get to work with.”

Flames Central airs on Thursdays on ESPN+ and stories are shared on the Liberty Athletics social media pages and LibertyFlamesCentral.com.

Liberty Athletics Creative Team videographer and storyteller Wyatt Kwiatkowski also received an Emmy in the Sports Story – Short Form Content category for the “Battle of the Blue Ridge” trailer he directed in anticipation of Flames Football’s clash with James Madison University at Williams Stadium on Sept. 20, 2025.

The trailer featured Liberty Football training and gameday footage overlaid with commentary from Director of Spiritual Development Dr. Ed Gomes as well as recordings of Liberty’s late founder Dr. Jerry Falwell.