University of Tennessee Athletics
Vol Network Personnel
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Assistant Athletics Director of Broadcasting | Voice of the Vols
Mike Keith
Assistant Athletics Director of Broadcasting | Voice of the Volss
Mike Keith, one of the top play-by-play radio announcers in sports, Hall of Fame radio voice and VFL, begins his first season as "Voice of the Vols" in 2025.
Keith just completed his 27th season with the Tennessee Titans in 2024, including the last 26 years as "The Voice of the Titans."
Keith is the lead play-by-play announcer for Tennessee's football and men's basketball games. He is also involved in various new programming initiatives that will be unveiled later this year, promising fans an engaging and dynamic experience. The first part of the new programming launched this spring with the ”Mike Keith Show” on Tennessee Athletics’ YouTube channel.
Describing one legendary NFL play on January 8, 2000, put him on the map. Keith accurately and enthusiastically called the play that he later dubbed "The Music City Miracle," a last-second touchdown that gave the Tennessee Titans a playoff win over the Buffalo Bills. ESPN named Mike's description of "The Music City Miracle" as one of the 10 Best Radio Calls in American Sports History.
With that signature call and scores more since 1999, Keith earned a spot on the "Top 100 Local Voices in the First 100 Years of Sports Broadcasting" list by Sports Broadcast Journal in 2021.
Along with being named Tennessee's Sportscaster of the Year 12 times and winning 20+ Associated Press awards, Keith owns a 1997 Edward R. Murrow Award for nationwide excellence in reporting. He is a member of five Halls of Fame, including the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame, TSSAA Hall of Fame, BGA Hall of Fame and the University of Tennessee Baseball Hall of Fame.
Keith became WUTK's sports director on his third day on campus in Knoxville in 1986. Within months of that appointment, at only 19, Keith was hired by the legendary John Ward with the Vol Network. He would work in various roles with the Vol Network from 1987-98, including being "The Voice of the Baseball Vols" from 1992-98.
Keith also hosted one of Tennessee's first daily sports talk shows from 1989-98 for WIVK/WNOX Radio in Knoxville. His four-hour show was named Tennessee's best in five of the first six years that awards were presented in AP's sports talk show category in the 1990s.
Keith was born in Knoxville and raised in Franklin. He and his wife, Michelle, have two children, Abby and Matthew. Both his wife and daughter graduated from the University of Tennessee, while Keith's grandfather, C.L. McPherson, played for General Neyland and lettered in 1932.
Ramon Foster - Analyst
VFL and 11-year NFL standout Ramon Foster will join Keith as the new booth analyst.
Foster starred for the Vols from 2005-08 after redshirting in 2004. A team captain, he played in 44 games with 28 offensive line starts and was a second-team All-SEC honoree on the Vols' 2007 SEC Eastern Division championship team.
Foster joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009 where he established himself as one of the most consistent and respected players during his tenure. In total, Foster started 145 of the 160 games he played in from 2009-19 with both of those figures ranking as the second most in team history at the guard position. A member of four AFC North divisional championship teams, he still works closely with the NFL and NFLPA.
Foster has been a mainstay on Vol Network affiliate 104.5 FM The Zone in Nashville since August of 2020. He co-hosts Ramon, Kayla and Will on the station weekdays from 6-10 a.m. CT. He served as the sideline reporter for Tennessee Titans radio the past two seasons, and he hosts The Ramon Foster Show, a podcast focused on Steelers' coverage.
Jayson Swain - Analyst
Entering his fifth season on the network, Swain will provide analysis and be joined by Foster and Hubbs on "Big Orange Countdown." Swain will co-host the broadcast's halftime and postgame shows. The VFL and team captain starred for the Vols from 2003-06 and was a member of the Vols' 2004 SEC Eastern Division title team. He signed with the Chicago Bears and still ranks seventh all-time in UT career receptions with 126.
Swain co-hosts the Josh and Swain show weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 99.1 FM The Sports Animal in Knoxville. He has hosted his own podcast, The Swain Event, since 2009.
Brent Hubbs - Sideline Reporter
Brent Hubbs will serve as sideline reporter, giving fans updates from the field throughout the game. The 32-year Vol Network veteran will continue to host "Big Orange Countdown" to kick off the network's pregame coverage. He will also conduct the Vol Network's exclusive postgame interview with Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel.
John Wilkerson - Studio Game Day Host
The Vol Network's longest-tenured on-air contributor, John Wilkerson returns for his 33rd season with the network in 2025. Wilkerson also serves as the studio host for University of Tennessee basketball game broadcasts on the Vol Radio Network and is the longtime voice of the Tennessee baseball program.
Brian Rice | Voice of the Lady Vols
Brian Rice, an award-winning sports talk show host and broadcaster with 10 years of experience as the highly-respected radio play-by-play announcer for Lady Vol softball, was announced on Aug. 23, 2022, as the new voice of Lady Vol basketball.
Rice, a Knoxville native who became a Big Orange fan-favorite behind the microphone at softball games and served as a fill-in for Mickey Dearstone on two UT women's hoops broadcasts in 2020, will handle radio play-by-play duties and host The Kellie Harper TV Show. He also will assist with other related duties in promoting the winningest program in women's college basketball history.
Becoming the third person to hold the role on a full-time basis, Rice joins the Lady Vol Network after Dearstone announced his retirement in the spring of 2022 following 23 seasons of painting a picture on the air for Big Orange followers. Current Tennessee Director of Broadcasting Bob Kesling was behind the mic at Lady Vol games for more than two decades after the legendary John Ward began the tradition by calling select UT women's games in 1977-78.
Rice began calling Tennessee softball games in 2013 and has filled in for other broadcasts as well as handled public address duties for women's basketball over the years. He also has called play-by-play for Tennessee baseball, soccer and volleyball for UTSports.com and SEC Network+.
In addition to his play-by-play work, Rice is a well-known on-air personality in Knoxville, serving as the co-host of The Erik Ainge Show that originates on the flagship station of the Lady Vol Network, 99.1 FM/AM 990. Rice was named the Knoxville News Sentinel Knox Stars Best of Knoxville in the Favorite Local Radio Personality category in 2020 and 2021. He also hosted a nightly sports television program simulcast on FOX 43 TV and 99.1 FM that covered local stories as well as the biggest national headlines.
From 2014-16 Rice was employed by the University of Tennessee, filling a role as a writer and broadcaster for the athletics department within the media relations office. He served as a writer/content creator for UTSports.com, producing features, blog posts, recaps, columns and historical reflections. He also handled soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball and tennis broadcasts as assigned by UT prior to the launch of the SEC Network+.
A two-time UT graduate, Rice possesses a degree in sport management in 2005 and a master's in sport studies in 2007. The graduate of Knoxville Catholic High School cut his teeth serving as a P.A. announcer at Fighting Irish sporting events.
John Ward - "Voice of the Vols" Emeritus
John Ward
"Voice of the Vols" Emeritus
Few men have meant as much to the University of Tennessee as John Ward. For more than three decades Ward served as the main communications link between the University of Tennessee and its fans as the undisputed "Voice of the Vols." Ward's mellifluous tones, flawless diction and precise descriptions painted a lifelike word picture of Vol football and basketball games that made him a living legend in the state of Tennessee. His unique phrases, style and delivery earned him countless honors and awards, national recognition and a devout following by millions of Big Orange fans.
Ward announced June 3, 1998, that the 1998-1999 season would be his last. The drama of Ward's final campaign behind the microphone was only heightened when the Vols captured the 1998 football national championship and the SEC Eastern Division basketball title. A scriptwriter could not have written a better swan song to his illustrious 35-year career.
Ward's first taste at broadcasting came when he began providing play-by-play commentary for his fraternity's intramural games on a tape recorder. As a University of Tennessee student, Ward picked up extra cash by moonlighting as a radio play-by-play announcer while covering high school basketball and football games for The Knoxville Journal. He received his law degree from the University of Tennessee in 1954 and went into radio and advertising. Ward's first broadcast of a UT basketball game came in 1958. Soon after that came service in the Army. After he returned to Knoxville, Ward went to work at an advertising agency. In 1964 he began handling the duties as announcer-host-coordinator for UT coaches television shows in football and basketball. His broadcasting career blossomed when he became the Vols radio play-by-play voice, first, for basketball in 1965 and three years later for football (1968). In addition to his duties with the Vol Network, he covered events for ABC-TV and ESPN.
Ward, whose understated humor enlivened his broadcasts and helped keep the games in perspective, was named Tennessee sportscaster of the year 28 times. He was named Best College Announcer in the country in 1976. Ward was a multi-term president of the Southeastern Conference Broadcasters Association and was awarded the Amateur Football Award by the East Tennessee Chapter of the National Football Foundation. Ward is a member of both the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and the Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame.
In 1995, level four of the press box at Neyland Stadium was named the John Ward Broadcast Center. In 1998 the senior class named a pedestrian greenway on the UT campus in honor of Ward and retiring UT president Joseph E. Johnson.
Ward always described his radio and television duties with the Vol Network as a hobby. Professionally, he went into the advertising business after graduating from UT with a law degree.
Ward passed away on June 20, 2018.
Additional Support Staff
- Tim Berry serves as chief engineer of the Vol Network.
- Network producer Dave Jeffries oversees everything from Vol Network Control.
- Bobby Rader co-hosts from the Vol Network studios with pregame and postgame duties and also hosts the “Spotlight on the SEC” program.
- Andy Brock hosts from the Lady Vol Network studios with pregame and postgame duties.
- Ellen Liston serves as the stage manager for the Vol Network’s pregame show and assists with in-game operations.
