When Mike Keith (‘91) accepted the job to be the Voice of the Vols, he knew immediately he wanted to do even more for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, by taking his renowned play-by-play sports analyst skills beyond the courts and fields and into the classrooms of the College of Communication and Information.
For Keith, the motto “Vols help Vols” is one he takes seriously and his appointment as an adjunct professor of practice at the School of Journalism and Media is just another way he can put that motto into action. As a Knoxville native, Keith was a Vol for Life long before he was asked to step into the iconic role responsible for calling UT’s football and basketball games.
“[Teaching] was one of the things that was a strong draw to campus. The overriding feeling I had was how fortunate I am to now be in a position to pay that forward. Vols help Vols, I’ve seen it throughout my entire life,” he said. “I’ve gotten many opportunities in my life because someone who was a Tennessee graduate said, ‘I’ll give him a shot, he’s a Vol.’ I’ve tried to do the same thing.”
One of the first shots he was given was from legendary Voice of the Vols John Ward, who Keith had grown up admiring as he listened to Ward call UT games on the radio. He’d been on campus as a student for all of three days when he became WUTK 90.3 FM’s sports director. Not long after that, the budding broadcaster was hired by Ward with the Vol Network, where he would work from 1987 to 1998.
As a newly minted teacher, Keith knows the education students receive in the classroom is critical. At the same time, he emphasized that becoming a broadcast journalist requires hands-on, practical experiences such as those he had at UT. He applauded CCI’s wide variety of student broadcasting opportunities and added that he hopes to further grow the relationship between CCI and Tennessee Athletics’ broadcasting team to bring even more opportunities to the table.
“Students learn by doing, and what better way than to have Professor Keith at the front of the classroom,” said Amy Jo Coffey, director of the School of Journalism of Media.” We’re thrilled to welcome Mike to the team and look forward to collaborating with UT Athletics for our students’ benefit.”
His classroom lectures will be yet another chance for CCI students to learn from leading industry practitioners who know exactly what it is like to do the jobs students are preparing to enter—and who better to learn from than someone who is in not just one, but five different Halls of Fame? Keith will make his teaching debut by guest lecturing across various courses in the School of Journalism and Media, where he hopes to impart the years of wisdom he has gathered as well as lessons he has learned from inevitable fumbles.
“Maybe people won’t make the mistakes I did and maybe people will start ahead of the curve because there’s some tips and tricks out there that will make people say, ‘Wow, this person understands what this is all about,’” he said. “I want to pass along some of the good that I’ve gotten because there’s such joy in this job, I’ve never worked a day in my life. That’s what you would hope for everyone—that everyone would find their thing that they enjoy.”
As someone who cut his teeth in the industry working with Ward, Keith knows well what it’s like to benefit from the mentorship of a skillful broadcaster. During those 11 seasons of basketball and football with Ward, Keith soaked up everything he could from working with Ward and built a foundation for an award-winning career and 26 years of being “the Voice of the Tennessee Titans” before returning to his UT roots this past spring.
“I learned a whole lot from him, and I had the opportunity to see the master at work. He really was good at what he did. That was like getting a master’s and a PhD,” Keith said.
Keith said his love of broadcasting bloomed when he stepped into the studios of WUTK, UT’s student-run radio station, where he would work for five quarters (at that time, UT had quarters instead of semesters). It was there on the bottom floor of Andy Holt Tower that he found the voice that would eventually result in him being named Tennessee’s Sportscaster of the Year 12 times. It was also at WUTK where Keith found friends and colleagues with whom he’s stayed in touch with until this day.
“We have one of the best student radio stations in America, and that’s an incredible opportunity for students to get the experience without the pressure of ratings or a corporation who owns the company or media surveys or whatever. You just work and find who you are and quite literally find your own voice because you can be yourself, you’re not trying to impress somebody,” he said.
Keith said he’s excited to be back on campus and around the unique energy that students bring to both game days and the classroom. In the few months he’s been at UT he’s already worked with students at VFL Films and said he’s impressed with their talent, intelligent questions, and proficiency at managing digital media platforms.
While broadcasting is a highly competitive field, Keith said the practical application opportunities offered at UT will set graduates apart in the industry—and though he didn’t say it, learning from someone of his status and skill is a unique occasion many students will carry with them long after they graduate. He is sincerely just a Vol helping other Vols, and he expressed a deep gratitude to UT for making him the Voice of the Vols, and to CCI for recognizing his value as a teacher.
“If you would’ve told me when I came on this campus in the fall of 1986 that in the fall of 2025 this would be what I was getting to do, I would have said that’s pretty perfect,” he said. “I’m going to approach it with that idea that I’m just really, really lucky to get this opportunity and I’m excited to go after it.”