Mike Keith brings preparation, passion and love for Tennessee as the new Voice of the Vols

In September of 1993 a mutual friend by the name of Al Webber, who was the youth leader at my church, introduced me to this guy, Mike Keith. And little did I know what that meeting at the Gibbs High School and Halls High School football game would mean to me. 

It has meant a career, a mentor, and a lifelong friend better than I deserve.

Today, my friend is returning to Rocky Top to be the next Voice of the Vols and I couldn’t be more thrilled for him.

Mike loves Tennessee and he’s the perfect fit for the next generation of The Vol Network.

Tennessee athletic director Danny White always talks about threading the needle of tradition and innovation. No one understands that better than Mike.

Mike Keith knows the history of Tennessee Football as well as anyone. He understands the tradition of The Vol Network. Having worked closely with him and stayed close friends with him, Mike is all about innovation.

I had the pleasure of working for Mike from the spring of 1994 through the spring of 1998.

It was the hardest grind I have ever been a part of, and it was the most fun I’ve ever had working. Never had I been challenged the way Mike challenged me. As his producer of Sportstalk, he had high expectations for me and all who worked with him. We were never just trying to get through a show. Each week, Mike would hand me a list of guests he wanted me to get on the show. And we got them, from pro golfers like Nick Price and Peter Jacobson, to NASCAR drivers like Jeff Gordon. And numerous college coaches. He wanted coaches to interview, not just the other media personalities who covered them. 

In 1997 a relatively unknown golfer by the name of Tommy Tolles finished third in the Masters. He told me to get Tolles on the show because he thought Tolles was a great story. Through calling every Tolles listed with information, I found him at his home on Monday in North Carolina and he was a guest less than 24 hours after completing a Sunday through Amen Corner. After we broke the story of the hiring of basketball coach Jerry Green, a story that Sportstalk won a National Edward R. Murrow award for, Mike headed to campus for the press conference and told me to get then Kansas head coach and Green’s friend, Roy Williams, on the show to talk about the unknown Green. We did. Why? Because that was the expectation Mike created. Mike didn’t dream big, he expected big and has always made big happen.

I could go on and on with stories of working with Mike and why I’m where I am today through his mentoring, but I won’t.

‘When you are passionate about something, you feel it to your core. That is what I feel about this and always have.’

What everyone should know is Mike Keith is orange to the core. 

What everyone should understand is he loves to work and he loves to prepare. 

His preparation is meticulous and, frankly, over the top. Every July we worked together, a working lunch meant a couple of hours of memorizing the roster out of the media guide (before the internet age). Names, height, weight, hometown, high school, all of it. For the last 27 years, a summer call reminded me of his prep because in June he was working the roster of the Titans opponents that fall.

Having worked NFL draft coverage with him the last two years, I was quickly reminded of the preparation first hand when I unzipped the download file he sent me on draft prospects he had worked up. For a young aspiring reporter and broadcaster, and a website publisher today, it has always been constant learning as he has made the work and preparation fun. 

When I worked for Mike it was fun because he was in tow, working with you every day. He didn’t leave me a list to do and then go play golf before shows. He worked in the office harder than you worked. But he also made sure we had fun. The post show parking lot whiffle ball games in the spring and summer with other workers and interns at the radio station were a blast and created a team. We might or might not have kicked footballs towards Kingston Pike about 2 a.m. after finishing up recruiting coverage one signing day. A couple may have even made it to the road. (I think, and hope, the statute of limitations has passed on that one).

Bottom line, it was fun because it’s fun to work when you love to work, and Mike’s passion is work.

But for Mike it’s not just about loving the grind. He also loves to build. He’s built things his entire career. He built Sportstalk that’s still a franchise in Knoxville today. He created a successful local nightly TV show when he was in Knoxville. 

When he left Knoxville and took over as the voice of the Tennessee Titans, his football play-by-play experience was calling high school games, yet he was hired by the NFL. All he has done in the mid-state is build Titans Radio from scratch into one of the best and most successful networks in the National Football League and became a beloved face of the franchise.

Every Titan fan knows where they were 25 years ago yesterday, when the Titans beat the Bills on the play dubbed the Music City Miracle because of the iconic call by Keith.

I can’t imagine what it feels like to walk away from that creation. Mike’s love for the Titans and calling games was obvious every Sunday.

But when your school calls with the chance to fulfill your childhood dream, you listen. Danny White and his inner circle not only called but set out to bring Keith home and today Mike is stepping into the role that he has long aspired to have.  

I couldn’t be happier for my friend. I know his lifelong love affair with Tennessee and I know what being the Voice of the Vols means to him. 

I also couldn’t be happier for Tennessee fans because, having known Mike since meeting him nearly 32 years ago, I know exactly what you are getting — preparation, expectations, passion, and a love affair with all things orange.