University of Tennessee Athletics
Spotlight on UT: Bob Kesling
Jan. 21, 2003
Kesling Wins Tennessee Broadcaster of the Year Award
It had to be 100 degrees when Bob Kesling rolled into Savannah, Tenn., in the middle of a balmy July afternoon four years ago. Maybe it was hotter, but no one seemed to care. There were still flocks of people in the town square drinking orange Kool-Aid and eating orange slices. And all of them were fully dressed in their orange Tennessee attire.
"It just shows you how important Tennessee sports are to people across the state," Kesling said as he remembered visiting the tiny town between Chattanooga and Memphis.
In fact, when Kesling was named Tennessee's Director of Broadcasting in 1999, he decided he wanted to meet people like that. He wanted to see and talk to the people that would be listening to him for years to come. He wanted to personally visit each and every one of the 85-plus stations that broadcast the Vol Network's coverage of Tennessee athletics. And he did.
"I just got in my car and took off," he said. "It took me about two or three months to do it, but I'd usually see two or three in a day. I got to see the entire state of Tennessee."
That's just the first of many stories the Tennessee broadcaster has lived to tell while calling the shots on The Hill. Take one look in his office and there's a story behind every picture and wall hanging that literally says, "Sit down and listen for a while."
From the huge moose head behind his desk (a quick glance and it looks real) to the championship photos of the Boston Celtics and Cincinnati Reds, it's all part of Bob Kesling. And the stories, they are unparalleled. Stories like the time John Ward, whom Kesling says is his biggest influence in broadcasting, critiqued a tape and simply gave the advice, "Try advertising." The two ended up working together for 15 years while Kesling spotted for Ward.
"I had a chance to go to a lot of smaller schools to do games," Kesling said. "But I thought I would learn more sitting next to John and spotting for him and working for the TV station (WBIR) than I would going to a small school and kind of floundering on my own. John just taught me a lot about how to be professional ... and how to be a broadcaster."
Kesling once had a 4-foot by 4-foot Celtics emblem painted in the driveway of his first house. And there's the green Celtics underwear Kesling wears for every game he calls, which would probably match his pairs of green shoes he has for every Celtics championship. In fact, he couldn't find a green pair of shoes for the 1981 championship team so his wife, Tami, wrote legendary Celtics coach and general manager Red Auerbach and asked for help. In a matter of weeks, Kesling received a pair of green Pony shoes in the mail. "Like Cedric Maxwell used to wear," Kesling said with a glow. "No note, no invoice."
Even at basketball games, notice he's always staring at the flag in the rafters during the national anthem. It's not because that flag is bigger. It's because Larry Bird used to stare at Bobby Orr's banner at Boston Garden to remind him to give a championship effort. Kesling reminds himself to give a championship effort on the microphone. "It's cornball, but it seems to work," he said.
Kesling has been giving a championship effort as Voice of the Vols for four years now. Along with doing play-by-play for Tennessee football and basketball, as well as Vol Calls, he is also the host of the Phillip Fulmer Show and the Buzz Peterson Show. And between all that, he still finds time to work with athletes on their interviewing skills. The schedule is demanding and traveling is a must. But Kesling treats his title of Voice of the Vols with respect.
"I feel it's an honor, personally," he said. "And another thing, I think it's a responsibility because you are the eyes, the ears and the storyteller for the University of Tennessee. How you present the game is kind of how the Tennessee fans will feel or think about the program."
| "John (Ward) just taught me a lot about how to be professional ... and how to be a broadcaster." |
| Bob Kesling on working with John Ward on the Vol Network |
Kesling got his first play-by-play experience calling Lady Vols basketball games. He had worked at local radio powerhouse WIVK in sports, as well as minor league baseball and hockey in Knoxville. But the job with the Lady Vols provided an opportunity to be on the air. The games paid $15 each and if he wanted to travel he had to pay his own gas money. So, when the Lady Vols played games in Valdosta, Ga., or Raleigh, N.C., he would lose money. But he didn't care.
"We'd play in Stokely Center and there would be less than 100 people at tip-off time," he said. "But you had to block that out. You had to think as if you were calling the NBA Finals."
Kesling has come a long way since the scarce Stokely crowds. From $15 a game to his nationally recognized status as Voice of the Vols, and the three Tennessee Sportscaster of the Year awards in between, he's always kept a humble attitude - advice provided by legendary broadcaster, Lindsey Nelson. And he has always kept professionalism in his work ethic - advice given by Ward - by wearing a coat and tie during broadcasts despite the traditional sweater or golf shirt worn by the majority of radio personalities.
"If you listen to one of our games and you want to hear a bunch of cheerleaders up there that are all rah-rah Tennessee, I don't think you're going to get that," Kesling said. "I think you're going to know from the tone of our voices and how we approach things, you know who we want to win. But we're not going to be open homers about it."
The Tennessee broadcaster keeps his professionalism in the workplace. And when it's time to go home, it's time to get away. He and Tami have two daughters, Allison and Melissa. They also have two basset hounds, Pete and Rose, named after the great Reds hitter.
Kesling's sister, Dianne, spent 18 years singing in the Metropolitan Opera in New York. His brother, David, lives in Lexington and is a computer programmer.
"My sister's got all the talent in the family," Kesling said with a laugh. "My brother's got all the brains in the family. And I got what was left, which ain't a whole lot."
What Kesling did get is something that is a treasure to Tennessee fans all across the world. He got the Voice.
By Josh Pate
