Mike Keith Named Next “Voice of the Vols”
After being inducted into the Hall of Fame with the Tennessee Titans, the VFL returns to the top.
The new “Voice of the Vols,” Tennessee Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Danny White said Thursday, will be Hall of Fame radio voice and VFL Mike Keith, one of the best play-by-play radio commentators in sports.
In 2024, Keith finished his 27th season with the Tennessee Titans, 26 of which he spent as “The Voice of the Titans.”
“When we discussed potential candidates, one name topped our list without question: bringing Mike and his family back to Rocky Top,” White stated. “He is a true icon in the broadcasting industry, and we are excited to harness Mike’s exceptional skill set to further elevate both the Vol Network and Tennessee Athletics in bold, innovative ways.”
Keith will serve as the primary play-by-play commentator for the men’s basketball and football games at Tennessee. Additionally, he will be a part of a number of new programming projects that will be revealed later this year, offering viewers a lively and captivating experience.
“While it is very hard to say goodbye to the Tennessee Titans, it is not hard to say” yes “to a return to the University of Tennessee and the Vol Network,” Keith stated. “A really interesting strategy for how I may help the brilliant VFL Films content team was laid out by Alicia Longworth. I left Knoxville in 1998, but Steve Early has kept me feeling like I’ve been a member of the Vol Network family ever since. Everyone involved in this process has been incredibly nice, professional, and outstanding. This carried on a pattern from a number of encounters I’ve had over the past five years with people, including athletes, campus and university administration, employees, instructors, students, etc.
from Tennessee University. Everyone—I mean EVERYONE—is simply excellent. In the aim of making a significant contribution, I am thrilled to be joining this entire team. Being a Tennessee Volunteer is fantastic, especially in 2025!from Tennessee’s University. Everyone—I mean EVERYONE—is simply excellent. In the aim of making a significant contribution, I am thrilled to be joining this entire team. Being a Tennessee Volunteer is fantastic, especially in 2025.
He became well-known on January 8, 2000, as he described a historic NFL play. The play that Keith later nicknamed “The Music City Miracle,” a last-second score that handed the Tennessee Titans a playoff victory over the Buffalo Bills, was called with accuracy and fervor. Mike’s account of “The Music City Miracle” was recognized by ESPN as one of the Top 10 Radio Calls in American Sports History.
Steve Early, Vice President and General Manager of Learfield-Vol Network, stated, “The Vol Network takes pride in being a broadcast pioneer and industry leader, and Mike’s appointment assures our quality and innovative approach will continue for the next generation of Vol fans.” “Mike is the epitome of Vol Network, and his understanding and admiration of our sports heritage are priceless. At this university, we honor a lineage of great commentators, so Mike will blend in perfectly.
In 2021, the Sports Broadcast Journal named Keith one of the “Top 100 Local Voices in the First 100 Years of Sports Broadcasting” because of that iconic call and other accomplishments since 1999.
Keith has won more than 20 Associated Press honors, been named Tennessee’s Sportscaster of the Year 12 times, and received the 1997 Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in reporting across the country. He is a member of five Halls of Fame: the University of Tennessee Baseball Hall of Fame, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame, the TSSAA Hall of Fame, and the BGA Hall of Fame.
On his third day on the Knoxville campus in 1986, Keith was appointed sports director of WUTK. Shortly after that appointment, Keith was employed by the renowned John Ward of the Vol Network at the age of 19. From 1987 to 1998, he would serve in a variety of capacities for the Vol Network, notably as “The Voice of the Baseball Vols” from 1992 to 1998.
Additionally, from 1989 until 1998, Keith led one of Tennessee’s first daily sports talk shows for Knoxville’s WIVK/WNOX Radio. In the early 1990s, when awards were initially given out in AP’s sports talk show category, his four-hour program won Tennessee’s best award five times.
Keith grew up in Franklin after being born in Knoxville. Abby and Matthew are his two children with his wife, Michelle. Keith’s grandfather, C.L. McPherson, played for General Neyland and received a letter in 1932, and both his wife and daughter received degrees from the University of Tennessee.
