Sean Kelley Thriving in Third Year as ‘Voice of the Gators’

Sean Kelley has only ever tried to be himself. 

That’s all you can do when trying to replace a legend.

Now in his third season as only the fourth ‘Voice of the Gators’, Kelley’s mentality and wealth of experience have helped him transition seamlessly to Gator Nation. Kelley took over for the beloved Mick Hubert, who handled the headset from 1989-2022. 

“I don’t know if I could have taken this job five years ago, certainly not 10 years ago,” Kelley said. “I felt like I could come and be myself, find my way, in some sense, but I already knew my style and how I would go about things.”

Kelley is just the fourth broadcaster to sport the ‘Voice of the Gators’ title, joining Otis Boggs (1940-82), David Steele (1982-89), and Hubert.

Kelley, 52, found his way to Gainesville through St. Louis roots and a career established in New Orleans. After graduating from Southern Illinois University, he started his career in the early 1990s covering the Missouri Tigers football and baseball teams. Kelley served as the voice of the Tulane Green Wave from 2002-05 and the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans in the NBA from 2005-19.  

He parlayed his 14-year NBA lead-voice stint into a national role with ESPN Radio. He served as the primary voice of the network’s college football game of the week until he was hired by Florida on July 6, 2022. He still calls games for ESPN when his Gators schedule allows.

Kelley was exposed to legends of the craft in his St. Louis upbringing, including esteemed Cardinals announcers Jack Buck and Mike Shannon, as well as Blues broadcaster Dan Kelly.

Kelley said that each of them, in addition to Hall of Famer Bob Costas, who launched his career in the city, were influences early in his career. 

“It was not just the way that they broadcast the games, it was also the way they interacted with their community,” Kelley said. He compared the ‘religion’ of St. Louis sports to the Florida fanbase and said the community aspect of being a part of Gainesville attracted him to the job. 

“Not only are those announcers the ambassadors of their team, but they’re also ambassadors of that city,” Kelley said. 

Kelley played multiple sports growing up, but he realized early on his future was better served covering athletes rather than being one. He described his mother as an avid radio listener and his father as someone who allowed him to try many sports.  

Despite knowing where his true passion lay, Kelley chose a practical route and started his time at Southern Illinois as a finance major. 

“That lasted just one semester,” Kelley said bluntly. “I figured out that was not going to go well, and it was just kind of like, OK, follow your heart on this.”

“I didn’t get into broadcasting and say, let me just figure this out…everything was going to be geared toward doing play-by-play. I was willing to do anything.”

Kelley knew that ingraining himself in Gator Nation would take time and effort. He has learned from prominent voices in the community, including his football broadcast partners Shane Matthews and Tate Casey, basketball analyst Lee Humphrey and his baseball co-voice Jeff Cardozo. 

“I’m smart enough to know how to lean on them. They’ll kind of show me the way, and then I’ve let fans kind of show me the way too,” Kelley said. “If I leave myself open to their counsel and their stories, it’ll start to generate some of that base that I need to be in this position.”

“I think it was a tough adjustment for everybody, just because they were so used to Mick,” said Pat Dooley, a longtime Gators sports columnist and radio personality. 

Dooley said it becomes easier for fans to like new play-by-players if they broadcast for successful teams. Hubert called six national championships in his 33-year career (three for football, two for basketball and one for baseball). His calls – his signature “Oh my!” or iconic moments such as “Doering’s got a touchdown!” – are synonymous with Gators lore and core memories for many.  

Kelley hasn’t had too many chances for those moments just yet. He’s voiced an overall disappointing football team that may be turning the corner, a Todd Golden-led basketball team that cracked its first NCAA tournament last season and a baseball team that’s made back-to-back trips to the College World Series.

Although Kelley doesn’t have a go-to signature call (he says it’s not his style), his “Chomp This One Up For The Gators” line to tie a bow on Florida wins is starting to make the rounds. 

“I think everybody likes him very much, and he’s stepped right in and become a big part of this,” Dooley said.

Kelley has earned a reputation in the industry for being a favorite among analysts. That hasn’t stopped since he arrived in Gainesville. 

“Sean has made my life so much easier,” said Matthews, a two-time SEC player of the year as Florida’s quarterback from 1990-92 who has been partnered with Kelley for his three seasons behind the mic. “He’s a pro’s pro, obviously, with all of his experience…I think he does a phenomenal job.”

Matthews was Hubert’s color commentator for his final season in 2021 and said the transition to working with Kelley has been a terrific experience. 

“Anytime there’s change, it takes some time to get used to the new way of things. I don’t think Sean wants to be Mick. And I don’t think Mick wants Sean to be him,” Matthews said.

Matthews described Kelley as the “travel coordinator” for Gators football road trips as the well-traveled broadcaster knows all the best restaurants for any road city. 

“He hasn’t disappointed us so far,” Matthews said.

As Kelley has settled into Gainesville, he is also interested in becoming more involved with broadcasting education at UF and is ready to give back the many lessons has learned over the years.

“There’s so many things that were shown to me early on that proved to be invaluable that I’ll never be able to repay, and maybe I can start repaying that now,” Kelley said.

After a rewarding 30-plus year career, is this still the greatest job in the world?

“It really is,” Kelley said. “It kind of takes me back to what my original vision about what I wanted this job to be, which was to be an ambassador of the university, the community, be with these teams on their journeys through the entire season, and be kind of a Jack Buck-type figure for a fan base and community.

“I’m humbled, in that sense, to be in this spot. And, yeah, that’s pretty great.”