For Mike Keith, this was an easy decision. Most professional broadcasters wouldn’t leave the coveted position of an NFL radio play-by-play job since those gigs are hard to get. However, Keith made a bold move and is returning to his alma mater after 26 years with the Tennessee Titans. Starting this fall semester, he will be the voice of the Tennessee Volunteers, replacing the retiring Bob Kesling, who will call it quits after the men’s basketball season. Keith, primarily handling football and basketball, will make his debut on Aug. 30 for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game when Tennessee faces Syracuse in Atlanta.
The 57-year-old is not new to broadcasting the Volunteers; he worked for the school from 1987-98, including calling baseball games. His grandfather, C.L. McPherson, played football for “The General” Robert Neyland.
Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Awful Announcing: Will you be nervous about your football debut?
Mike Keith: “I’ll be terrified leading up to it. It’s an obligation to this fan base to be as good as I can be because there’s a level of expectation. You better be ready to call Tennessee football. I’ve described myself as excited and terrified at the same time. I think it’s a good thing. It’s a great thing to get the blood flowing and to be on your Ps and Qs as much as you possibly can in order to go forward and do the best job you can do to be ready. My goal will be to be over-prepared when it’s time to step in and do it.”
Did you do anything to celebrate your new job?
“I got in the car. I took the whole weekend off and came here on Monday. I’m, of course, joking. I did that because I wanted to get here and dive right in. I’m looking at football statistics right now. I’ve got some basketball statistics I’m going over. I’m trying to learn names and numbers, decorating an office, and filling out paperwork so I can get parking. I just wanted to get started because I dreamed of having this opportunity a long time ago, and my wife knew that. When she met me in college, she knew my dream was to be the voice of the Vols. So, she’s was, like, ‘Go!’”
How did this opportunity come about?
“Bob [Kesling] and I knew each other really well. He gave me some of my early opportunities in broadcasting when I was a college student here. I stayed in touch with everybody with the Vol radio network for years. A couple of the same people who were involved heavily back when I lived here are still involved and they’re friends. I’d gotten to know several people with the university. They were kind enough to reach out and we kept it pretty simple. They said, ‘We’d like to have you come back.’ I said, ‘That’s great.’ We worked everything out from there. It wasn’t that hard. It’s an incredible opportunity for any broadcaster, but for somebody who grew up following the University of Tennessee and was part of the Vol radio network for 11 years, to come back, it’s a wonderful feeling.”
What else had to fall into place for this to happen?
“My life was also in order to the point where I could do it. My kids are grown, and my wife had some freedom with what she had done. She’s not working full time right now, doing a lot of things, but she wasn’t tied down by any one thing. I was not under contract (with the Titans), and so at that point, we looked at it and we decided that for both of us, my wife and me, it was going to be an exciting new adventure, doing something that I wanted to do in the town and on the campus where we met 38 years ago.”
Did the Titans make a counteroffer?
“I’m not going to get into whether they did or whether they didn’t. They were very nice on the way out, and I’m very appreciative of how the ownership treated me throughout. The ownership called me after the fact and Amy Adams-Strunk and Kenneth Adams were very kind. I think they understood too that from my standpoint, this wasn’t just going to another job. This was something that was deeply part of my life. That was a destination.”
Do you have a favorite memory from your time calling Titans games?
“I think my favorite memory is probably the Music City Miracle game, Jan. 8, 2000, against Buffalo. Closely behind that, though, was the Titans eliminating the Patriots and ending the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era in the 2019 playoffs. Those two games stand out to me the most.”
Tennessee announces Mike Keith as its newest Voice of the Vols 25 years and one day after he teamed up with Pat Ryan for the legendary radio call of the Music City Miracle. pic.twitter.com/2PPPSbHaTi
— Ryan Schumpert (@rschump00) January 9, 2025
What was it like broadcasting the Music City Miracle?
“My reaction was total and complete shock, much like the crowd, because you’ve had Buffalo kick a field goal with 16 seconds to go. And if you’re the Titans, a broadcaster, a fan, or a media member, you think, this team has blown this game because we took the lead with 1:48 to go only to see Buffalo come right back down the field and score. You’re thinking the season’s over. This was our first year as the Titans, our first year in what is now known as Nissan Stadium. All you can think to yourself is ‘We choked.’ And then, here comes Lorenzo Neal handing the ball back to Frank Wycheck, who throws it across the field to Kevin Dyson. And he goes 75 yards for a touchdown that changed not only the 1999 playoffs but changed the arc of an entire franchise as people got used to Nashville having its own team. Because the team went on to the Super Bowl, I think it’s the most impactful NFL play of all time.”
College football rosters are bigger and there’s more player movement. How will you prepare?
“I am going to be out at spring practice and spend time getting interviews and sitting down with coaches. Listen, if you’re going to do Tennessee football, Tennessee fans expect you to know as much as possible. I’m going to study the numbers. I’m going to study the names. I’m going to know the recruiting stories. I’m going to know what sort of things they’re doing with their NIL that’s interesting. I’m going to try to know as much as I can.”
How well do you know Josh Heupel?
“I know Josh just a little bit. He’s been on the road recruiting this week, so I haven’t had a chance to see him. My interactions with him have been good in the past. He reached out to me immediately after they made the announcement, which (was) a thrill for me. I’m a big fan of what he does. It’s a fun offense. It’s a fun football team to follow. I’m interested to delve into all the ins and outs he’ll let me see. You can’t give away everything. But if you can provide some insight into certain things in a way that doesn’t reveal any secrets, I think the fan base will enjoy that.”
How are Tennessee fans different from other SEC fans?
“Oh, they’re the most fanatical. People will tell you anywhere you go, there is nothing like a Tennessee fan. There were 30,000 Tennessee fans in Columbus for the first playoff game in The Horseshoe. A lot of (Ohio) State fans just thought that was crazy. They’re like, ‘How in the world can this be happening?’ But that’s who they are. They will go anywhere. They will do anything. I’m one of them. I grew up one of them. My grandfather played here for General Neyland back in the 1930s. So my family has grown up with that.”
