Jeremy Franklin, ‘04, resigned as general manager of WLUR 91.5, the campus radio station, after 17 years in the position.

He will remain on staff through August 27. The interim WLUR general manager has yet to be appointed. 

Franklin graduated in 2004 with a degree in history and during his time as a student, he served as sports editor for the Ring-tum Phi.

He began his work in broadcast in 2002 when he joined veteran Doug Chase, ‘74, as halftime guest for the Washington and Lee-Virginia Wesleyan men’s basketball game. 

Since then, he has spent two decades calling Generals’ athletic events, first as a regular color commentary analyst before taking over as the Generals’ lead play-by-play announcer on WLUR.

“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 said. 

Franklin was the one to call nearly every major Washington and Lee athletic victory of the last two decades including 60 Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship events, 45 of which featured the Generals. He called the NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer title contest four times.

The Department of Athletics and Physical Education honored him in 2003 when he received the Lefty Newell Award, given to a student who has served W&L teams and contributed to their success, then again, in 2008, when he was awarded the Chub Yeakel Award for an individual in the community who has made outstanding contributions.

Michael F. Walsh Director of Athletics Jan Hathorn said the department was blessed to have Franklin represent them for so many years with such a high level of excellence. 

“He is an outstanding professional who has become a friend to many and is really one of the family,” Hathorn said. “Jeremy has made us infinitely better.  We will miss him tremendously and we thank him from the bottom of our hearts.”

Director of Athletic Communications Brian Laubscher spoke of his deep friendship and regard for Franklin. 

“His voice is woven into the fabric of our culture,” Laubscher said. “He is literally irreplaceable in more ways than I can count and he will be missed more than he will ever know.”