Florida Gators announce Sean Kelley as new 'Voice of the Gators'

For the last 33 years, Mick Hubert was the voice of the Florida Gators. Heading into the 2022 season, however, there is a new voice in Gainesville. The Gators announced on Wednesday that they’ve hired ESPN Radio college football play-by-play announcer Sean Kelley as the new Voice of the Gators.

Kelley joins the broadcast team after three years as the lead play-by-play voice on national college football for ESPN Radio. He is also the former radio voice of the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans. Coincidentally, his first assignment after joining ESPN full-time in 2019 was in the radio booth to call Florida’s victory over Miami at Camping World Stadium.

“Florida is one of the elite of the elites with regard to intercollegiate athletics,” Kelley said in the team’s release. “That makes it not only a destination job for anyone in our business, it makes it a destination job for those who have reached certain heights in our business.”

More about Sean Kelley

Per the program’s release, Sean Kelley earned his journalism degree from Southern Illinois University. He launched his career as sports director at KFRU-AM in Columbia, Mo., where he also served as a play-by-play announcer and broadcaster for University of Missouri sports on the Tiger Radio Network.

Kelley became Tulane University’s play-by-play voice for football, men’s basketball and baseball in 2002. In August of 2005, the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans hired Kelley as their radio play-by-play voice, a job he held for the next 14 seasons. Kelley served seven seasons as a digital host for NewOrleansSaints.com and as a television reporter for the Saints during the preseason.

He strayed far from the broadcast booth during his time in New Orleans. He worked as a firefighter with St. Tammany Parish Fire District for several years to build ties and contribute to the community.

“I grew up in St. Louis where Jack Buck was the voice of the Cardinals, Bob Costas got his career started there, Dan Kelly was the voice of the St. Louis Blues,” Kelley said. “I grew up in a town where sportscasters were not only some of the best in the country but were also true ambassadors of the teams and the city. They’re the ones who inspired me and made me want to get into the business.

“All this time, I have been in search of a place where I could be that same all-in kind of announcer. Call the games, yes. But also represent the university and be a part of the fabric of the community.”