In 2008, Randy Lee Jr. and Brett Pritchard set out to try and highlight local athletes around the state of Alabama. Sixteen years later, the duo still have plenty of coverage to dole out as R&B Media’s contract with the AHSAA was extended through 2035 the AHSAA announced Thursday.
Despite the ever changing landscape of media, Lee and Pritchard have been a constant force and consistent backbone for the high school athletic scene across the state and will continue to be for years to come.
“We are thrilled about this,” Lee said. “It is the one job we are the most proud of. By the end of this contract we will have made a whole career out of it. I can’t think of anything I would rather do more than providing coverage of high school sports here.”
There was no telling what the radio network could morph into years down the line, but both men were passionate about their project and soon the rest of the state followed suit.
“You start something because you are passionate about it and love it,” Pritchard said. “You don't think about it; you just start it because you love it. I am very honored and humbled to be given the opportunity to start the network from the ground up and see where it is now.”
As former high school athletes, both Lee and Pritchard got involved in media as a way to maintain his relationship to sports. There was no telling where the world was headed when he started out in ’08, and even less of a vision of where the world would be in ’35.
Regardless, the AHSAA Radio Network will be there to update on schools, players, coaches and games around Alabama in whatever form necessary.
“It is so different,” Lee said of when he started out. “I would have had no way of knowing in 2008 what was to come. If you call me in 10 or 12 years, I will say the same. Who knows what we will be doing when this contract culminates, but we will be staying on the cutting edge to provide quality content.”
The AHSAA Radio Network spans multiple social media channels, a TV broadcast, online streaming, documentary filmmaking and of course radio. In 2023, the network reached over two million individual listeners and viewers.
The goal of the network is not to just highlight the biggest and most popular schools in the state, but rather all of Alabama’s almost 400 individual schools.
To do so, the network has partnered with local media outlets to cover as much ground and as many students as possible.
“We are very fortunate to have the Alex City Outlook and outlets like that that are providing local coverage of athletics,” Lee said. “We try to provide content for not only the kids at the Phenix City or Thompsons, but the Horseshoe Bends, Reeltowns and Central Coosas of the world. It is very important to us.”
From the Class 7A state football championships to 1A basketball tournaments, the AHSAA Radio Network sets out to cover it all. Initially, the men were focused on football but began to love all sports across the board. Nowadays, the girls state basketball championship is the highlight of the year for Pritchard.
“It is crazy to think about,” Pritchard said. “We try to bring exposure equitably across the board. That is our goal to bring notoriety to parts of the state that may otherwise not get it.”
The next 10 years may hold plenty of advancements for the radio network. A potential SEC Network-type broadcast could be in the works, along with changes made to keep up with the changing media world.
One thing is for certain though in Pritchard’s eyes when he predicts the next 10 years.
“Our better days are ahead of us,” Pritchard said.
