When Allan Wylie was 12 years old, he fully understood sports. He fully grasped what sports meant, how they impacted lives, and why they were so significant. With this understanding, Allan discovered his true passion: sports broadcasting.

It was the voice of Jim Brandstatter, the play-by-play broadcaster for Michigan University football, that led Allan to his love of sports that he now carries all around Rowan’s campus, studying Sports Communication and Media as a freshman.

“He seems to care so much about the team he usually calls for,” Wylie said. “Jim Brandstatter, he played for Michigan in the ’60s and ’70s, so he cares so much.”

Allan is well on his way to becoming a successful voice of a sports team himself, but there’s one unique variable to Allan’s career path.

He has been blind since birth and has a love for sports purely based on the sounds he hears and the vast emotions he feels while being a sports fan and journalist.

While Allan credits the age of 12 as the time he gained a full understanding of sports, he says he initially gained interest in games around the age of two, partly because of the passion his dad has for sports, especially the Cleveland Browns.

Wylie began doing his high school sports games at 15 in Westlake, Ohio as a color analyst. That’s when a parent at West Lake began tuning in, but could not tell and did not know that Wylie was not only young but blind and providing top-notch color analysis on the games.

The Westlake parent, who helps out with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ NBA G-League affiliate, the Cleveland Charge, got Allan involved with the professional sports team.

“He called myself, my dad, and my mom up and said ‘Hey, would you like to do a game?’” said Wylie.

Obviously, it was an immediate yes from Wylie to hop on an NBA G-League broadcast, a great opportunity for someone that young, an opportunity that Wylie would love to replicate by getting involved in Rowan’s internship with the Delaware Blue Coats, the Philadelphia 76ers affiliate.

In March 2023, Allan got his shot in Cleveland, calling his first professional sports game as the Charge took on the Ontario Clippers.

A short time later, an opportunity came calling to work for another Cleveland minor league sports team, the Lake County Captains, the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians.

He called seven games for the Captains, one of which came with an opportunity to talk with Zack Meisel, a reporter with The Athletic, the sports department for the New York Times. On Sept. 20, 2023, Wylie’s name was in The Athletic, complete with a full story and pictures of him, a recognition for his hard work and perseverance.

Now, with all the credentials, Wylie is walking around Rowan’s campus, another tool for success in the field of sports broadcasting, a toolbox that Wylie has equipped with some strong experiences.

He attended Play by Play Sports Broadcasting Camps in 2021, where he met Neil Hartman, the Senior Director for the Center of Sports Communication and Social Impact at Rowan.

“He was really the first person to tell me I can do it,” Wylie said.

It’s hard to talk to Allan for two minutes without being impressed, not just that he does what he does, but how well he remembers everything in sports, whether it be college football, high school basketball, NBA basketball; anything.

“If I’m passionate about something, I’ll remember it,” Wylie said.

Rowan will certainly remember you, Allan.

For comments/questions about this story DM us on Instagram @TheWhitSports or email sports@thewhitonline.com