Alex Flanagan
Alex Flanagan (née Wystrach) (born September 23, 1973) is an American sportscaster who is a graduate of the University of Arizona and Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, Arizona. She works for the NFL Network.
Early life and career
Flanagan began her television career while in college as a student intern at KVOA-TV, she was also a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority. Following graduation, she worked as a general assignment news reporter and weekend anchor at KCCO-TV in Alexandria, Minnesota, and worked in the same capacity for WSFA-TV in Montgomery, Alabama.
Fox Sports
Before joining ESPN, Flanagan worked for Fox Sports Net, now known as Fox Sports Networks. She was the featured reporter on The Keith Olbermann Evening News, served as a reporter for the National Sports Report and as a producer/reporter on the Emmy-nominated weekly sports investigative magazine show Goin' Deep, hosted first by Joe Buck and later by Chris Myers.
ESPN
Flanagan worked for ESPN from 2000-2006. She spent five years reporting from the college football sidelines for ESPN. She served as a sideline reporter for the College World Series, the Women's Tennis Association's tour championships, men's college basketball, and the NCAA Women's basketball tournament. As a reporter for SportsCenter, Flanagan frequently filed reports on the Lakers, Dodgers, Angels, UCLA, USC and the Chargers. She has also covered spring training, the NBA playoffs, college football bowl games, the NCAA Men's basketball tournament and did a weekly segment for NFL Monday Night Countdown. At ESPN she helped launch an entertainment themed segment for SportsCenter called “Hollywood Highlights”, served as co-host of the Home Depot College Football Awards and ESPN Classic road shows.
NFL Network
Flanagan has been a host and reporter for the NFL Network since 2006. She has reported from five Super Bowls and hosts a variety of programs including NFL Total Access. In 2010, Flanagan joined play-by-play announcer Bob Papa and analysts Matt Millen and Joe Theismann as NFL Network's Thursday Night Football game broadcast team, where she provided sideline reports, pre-game and post game interviews.
Olympics and swimming
In August 2008, Flanagan was one of NBC's hosts during its coverage of the Beijing Olympics. She anchored six hours of Olympic coverage nightly on CNBC and USA Network. That following year, she reported from the U.S. Swimming National Championships where Michael Phelps broke the 100-meter butterfly record. She was also on deck for the 2010 Pan Pacific championships, helping call the action with Rowdy Gaines and Ted Robinson and Dan Hicks. In 2010, Flanagan also covered the 2010 Winter Olympics from Vancouver for NBC as a reporter.
Madden NFL video games
Flanagan can be heard and seen in the popular video games Madden NFL 10 and Madden NFL 11, where she hosts an in-game weekly recap show with Fran Charles.
Personal life
Alex is a native of Sonoita, Arizona. She is married to former University of Arizona basketball player Kevin Flanagan. They have two daughters and a son. Alex's family owns the Arizona steak restaurants, "The Steak Out" (located in Sonoita), and Dove Mountain.