LEXINGTON, Va. – Washington and Lee University has announced that Jeremy Franklin, the voice of the Generals, has resigned his position of general manager of WLUR and sports broadcasting to pursue other professional opportunities.
 
A 2004 W&L graduate with a bachelor of arts in history, Franklin began his broadcast career as an undergraduate student when he joined former broadcast great Doug Chase '74 as a halftime guest for the Washington and Lee-Virginia Wesleyan men's basketball game on January 20, 2002.  Prior to that moment, Franklin had been a print journalist, covering games as a stringer for the Daily Dispatch in his native North Carolina and serving as the Sports Editor for the Ring Tum Phi student paper at W&L.
 
Franklin's experience on the broadcast that day shaped a two decade-long career calling Generals' athletic events.  He soon took to serving as a regular color commentary analyst, before eventually taking over the reins as W&L's lead play-by-play announcer on WLUR. 
 
After earning his degree in 2004, Franklin remained at his alma mater, serving as the general manager and program director of WLUR 91.5, the campus radio station.  In this role, he organized, developed and managed the staff and on-air content for the station, including the athletics broadcasts, for which he served as the lead broadcaster.
 
"It's been a tremendous privilege to cover the Generals for the last two decades, dating back to my time as the Ring-tum Phi sports editor and as a student announcer for WLUR," said Franklin.  "From seeing our broadcasts evolve from radio into high-quality streaming video, to working with all 24 teams on the W&L Sports Weekly, to interacting with our outstanding student-athletes, coaches, and athletic staff, I feel blessed to have been a part of this program for so long."
 
Franklin called nearly every significant W&L athletic moment across the last 20 years, including 60 Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship events, 45 of which have featured the Generals.  His talents have also extended beyond the conference as evidenced by his inclusion as the play-by-play announcer for 15 NCAA Division II and III Championship events.  On four occasions, he called the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer title contest.
 
"People, and talents, like Jeremy Franklin only come around once in a rare while," said Michael F. Walsh Director of Athletics Jan Hathorn.  "W&L, and W&L athletics, has been blessed to have someone of Jeremy's integrity and abilities representing them for so many years at such a high level of excellence.  He is an outstanding professional and who has become a friend to many and is really one of the family.  Our love and respect run deep and wide.  I am, at once, sad to see him go and so happy for him as he takes this exciting next step in his life and career. It would take hours to highlight the many ways Jeremy has made us better, so it's easier to just say that: that Jeremy has made us infinitely better.  We will miss him tremendously and we thank him from the bottom of our hearts."
 
Franklin's broadcasting role evolved in 2008, when the University began producing live video broadcasts.  He seamlessly made the transition in his broadcast style and quickly established himself as one of the top video play-by-play voices on the small college level.
 
Franklin's contributions to Washington and Lee athletics extended far beyond calling the action on the field.  Just months before the University debuted live video broadcasts, he was among a small group of communications and journalism staff members involved in the formation of the W&L Sports Weekly.  Franklin served as the studio host for the weekly YouTube show, which has featured interviews with countless W&L administrators, coaches and student-athletes over the years.  Before the pandemic forced the postponement of the show in March of 2020, Franklin had hosted 277 episodes spanning the better part of 12 years.  His voice can also be heard in the background of countless videos produced by the athletic communications office, including the yearly awards banquet videos and the traditional year-in-review video.
 
Twice Franklin has been honored by the department for his contributions.  The first occurred in 2003 when he received the Lefty Newell Award which is presented to a student who has served W&L teams and contributed to their success.  The second was in 2008 when he was awarded the Chub Yeakel Award which is given to the individual within the university community who has made outstanding contributions to the Department of Athletics and Physical Education.
 
"It's impossible to imagine a Washington and Lee athletic event without picturing Jeremy Franklin calling the action," said Director of Athletic Communications Brian Laubscher.  "His voice is woven into the fabric of our culture.  I will forever cherish the memories of our many road trips and our long discussions about the myriad teams and individual athletes that have made up the history of our athletics program over these last two decades.  He is literally irreplaceable in more ways than I can count and he will be missed more than he will ever know."
 
In addition to his work on campus, Franklin has been a fixture in the local community.  He has served as a stringer and staff writer for the Lexington News Gazette and as a high school sports announcer on WREL/3WZ in Lexington.  He was also the play-by-play voice of the Rockbridge Rapids Valley League Baseball Club from 2009-13.  Additionally, he has served on the Board of Directors of the Lime Kiln Theater since 2015.
 
Franklin will remain on staff at W&L until August 27.  If you would like to extend your well wishes, he can be reached at franklinj@wlu.edu.