Mike Keith to the Vols, leaving the Titans, is more than what was rumored for two years
The Tennessee Vols finally have their man, and it's someone whose voice many Vol fans have dreamed about for years. Tennessee Titans play-by-play announcer Mike Keith has reportedly accepted the job as the voice of the Vols for football and basketball games, replacing Bob Kesling after 25 years. Keith and Tennessee Athletics revealed the news […]
The Tennessee Vols finally have their man, and it's someone whose voice many Vol fans have dreamed about for years.
Tennessee Titans play-by-play announcer Mike Keith has reportedly accepted the job as the voice of the Vols for football and basketball games, replacing Bob Kesling after 25 years. Keith and Tennessee Athletics revealed the news with posts on Twitter/X.
Keith, an 11-time winner as Tennessee sportscaster of the year, has been someone that many Vol fans had circled as a possible replacement for Kesling for years. The connection is a logical one. Keith has been a part of the radio broadcast for the Tennessee Titans going back to their arrival in the Volunteer State. He took over play-by-play duties in 1999 and was on the call for the legendary Music City Miracle win over the Buffalo Bills in the 1999-2000 playoffs.
Keith is also a graduate of the University of Tennessee, where he did plenty of good works with the Vol Radio Network. He assisted John Ward with the football broadcasts from 1987 until 1998. He was also the voice of the Tennessee baseball team from 1992-1998, where he called the team's 1995 College World Series trip.
The veteran broadcaster is someone many Vol fans have been pleading to come home for a long time. Some folks had believed for years that Keith might have done what other broadcasters in the NFL have done – including Gene Deckerhoff with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Florida State – and end up calling games for both the Titans and the Vols over the weekend.
However, the Vols managed to land Keith all to themselves, and the game day experience will be a better one for it for football and basketball games in Knoxville. Because there aren't many announcers who can capture the moment and add to the intensity without stealing the moment like Keith has done with the Titans for a quarter of a century.
And that should make for a lot of appointment radio listening for Tennessee fans for years to come.
Tennessee Vols show in just half a week why they could win it all or lose in their first game in March
It was a major wake up call for the Big Orange on Tuesday
