Photo courtesy of Britton Anderson.
Alumni gather for a post-game social in Denver during the hockey series with Denver University in January 2023. From left are Dain Cunningham '93, Britton Anderson '10, Chet Paris '78 and Jane Paris.

By Katie Straub

When the Alaska Nanooks hockey team scores a home game goal these days, the announcer often sounds off with a distinctive cheer — “wooo!” — and the fans echo it back.

The cheer, which rhymes with blue, began years ago with a similar but unexpected outburst from Britton Anderson as he announced a pair of exciting scores at the Carlson Center. Fans embraced the moment, turning it into a lasting tradition at Nanooks hockey games.

It’s fitting applause for a guy who has contributed in multiple ways to UAF. A 2010 graduate in information technology, Anderson was a student, staff member, adjunct faculty member, pep band member and athletics announcer.

Now, as an alum, he stays connected to UAF and returns a few times a year for hockey games.

“I don't know how many people can say that they've been affiliated with UAF in every which way you possibly can be,” Anderson said.

Anderson works as a solutions architect for Worldwide Technology, a global consulting company. He lives in Parker, Colorado, with his wife and fellow UAF graduate, Mercedes ’12, ’17, and their 3-year-old daughter, Sydney.

He credits his career success and professional connections to his experiences at UAF.

“I’ve had opportunities to work with [UAF’s] Research Computing Systems and Alaska Satellite Facility teams and ultimately lead the effort to design and implement the network systems for the research vessel Sikuliaq,” he said during an online interview from his Colorado home in June.

“I had the pleasure of sailing on the Sikuliaq’s maiden voyage,” Anderson added. “It was such an amazing experience!”

Unexpected beginnings

Anderson’s journey to UAF wasn’t straightforward.

Initially, he planned to enter the trades after graduating from a Kenai Peninsula high school in 2007. However, a trip to Fairbanks for the Alaska all-state music festival changed his course. Impressed by his talent, UAF music faculty members encouraged him to join their program.

“I was a percussionist — well, still am frankly,” Anderson said. “The percussion director at the time, Scott Deal, recruited me to come there for percussion and music technology, which was like a combination of my two passions.”

However, Deal left UAF before Anderson’s senior year in high school, forcing him to reconsider his options. Without a strong tie to the music program and the idea of a four-year degree program unappealing, Anderson was at a crossroads. Meanwhile, his girlfriend (now wife), Mercedes, had chosen UAF.

“Mercedes had scholarships at UAF and all that smart stuff, and she chose to go to UAF. So, I ended up following her up there, sort of at her insistence,” Anderson said with a grin.

Shifting gears

Once at UAF, Anderson and Mercedes immersed themselves in university life, joining clubs and various bands. He played percussion and she played tenor saxophone. They joined the UAF pep band together and played at the home UAF athletics events. Mercedes championed the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity that chartered buses of students to the Governor’s Cup hockey game in Anchorage.

Soon into his freshman year, Anderson felt ready for a change of major from music and a four-year degree program to something where he could work in technology. His desire for a focused degree program led him to the UAF Community and Technical College IT program, where he met Keith Swarner.

“Keith guided me through the program, helping me decide between computer science, computer engineering and IT,” Anderson said. “I realized I was most interested in the user interaction elements of IT.”

A month into the IT specialist program, Anderson secured a student job at the Office of Information Technology, now known as Nanook Technology Services. This role provided him with invaluable hands-on experience.

“It was really cool, and they gave me a lot of incredible opportunities to get my hands on things that I wouldn't have ever really seen,” he said. “I took some initiative and kind of wanted to get more involved, and that really helped me.”

In 2008, a full-time staff opportunity opened up to work the OIT help desk.

“I will always say to anybody who wants to get into tech: if you don't know what you want to do when you grow up, the help desk is the absolute best place to start because you get your hands involved in everything,” Anderson said.

In 2012, Anderson jumped at the chance to rejoin the telecommunications services team that was challenged with delivering internet service to all of the 17 campuses and villages across the University of Alaska system.

Additionally, Keith Swarner reached out to Anderson about an opportunity to teach students in the CTC IT specialist program as an adjunct faculty member.

Anderson seized the opportunity and for over 11 semesters enjoyed working with hundreds of students.

“It was truly great to connect with every kind of student and help share practical experiences and connect things we see in the field to the curriculum,” Anderson said. “It’s even more rewarding to help students connect with job opportunities — several students I taught are still employed at UAF today.”

Anderson continued to work at UAF and with the University of Alaska statewide system until 2018, when he and his wife moved to Anchorage.

Staying connected

As Anderson transitioned to a full-time UAF staff member and part-time student, he gave up his spot in the pep band to allow a full-time student to benefit from the pep band scholarship. To stay involved, he turned to athletics announcing, a role he had dabbled in during high school after a knee injury sidelined him from sports.

“At UAF, I started announcing for volleyball and basketball, eventually moving to hockey in 2009,” Anderson said.

“I actually owe my CTC advisor, Keith, quite a bit of of my professional career, if you will,” Anderson added, “because he not only gave me a chance through the program, and kind of got me into it, but also he's a UAF hockey alum and helped connect me to the hockey team.”

Even after the move to Anchorage, Anderson continued announcing for Nanook hockey games until 2021, returning for home games and missing only two in over a decade.

That’s how he unintentionally started a Nanook hockey trend that fans still love today.

“There was one night — I don't remember exactly who we were playing — but we had scored like two goals back to back pretty quickly,” Anderson said. “I didn't even finish announcing the first one before the ’Nooks scored again, and I finished announcing the first one after the festivities of the second one, and then at the end, after saying so much, ‘woooo!’ just came out.”

As a self-proclaimed “stats nerd,” Anderson was involved in several areas of Nanook hockey. As part of his IT networking degree program, he began a blog and YouTube channel to promote the Nanooks hockey team at a time when social media was just taking off.

While announcing, he had his fair share of hectic nights. Because he was also trained as an off-ice official, he needed to keep track of players when fights broke out to make it faster to review video footage for penalties.

"As a fan standing just 8 feet away from the action, it’s thrilling to watch the game unfold,” Anderson said. “But as an announcer, I had to quickly shift gears and figure everything out — tracking player pairings, penalties and ejections, while announcing it all to the crowd. Sometimes it was a challenge to keep up and convey the chaos to the fans. It was crazy, but exhilarating."

A new chapter

In 2021, Anderson’s life took a dramatic turn when his daughter, Sydney, was born four months premature. After she spent four months in the neonatal intensive care unit in Anchorage, Sydney needed more specialized care available in the Lower 48. The family moved to Colorado, choosing the area to be closer to family and for its renowned medical facilities.

Today, Sydney is thriving, and the family enjoys attending University of Denver hockey games, supporting a team that some former Nanook players and coaches are now part of. Anderson remains connected to UAF, making it a point to attend a few hockey games each year.

His prediction for this year’s Gov Cup?

“Oh Nanooks, no doubt,” Anderson said with a grin.

Looking forward

Anderson continues to find ways to stay involved in the sports community. He plans to try out for the drum line of the Colorado Avalanche, the NHL team, hoping to once again energize the crowds through playing with the band.

“It doesn’t pay amazingly well, but it’s a fun way to go see all the games,” Anderson joked.

But will the pep band ever return to UAF?

“I'd love to see the UAF pep band come back,” Anderson said. “I mean, I would certainly make a guest appearance if I could!”