Tennessee mourns 'Voice of the Vols'

University of Tennessee athletics and fans lost “the Voice of the Vols” Wednesday with the death of John Ward.

“For generations of Vol fans, John's voice brought to life many of their fondest memories of Tennessee football and basketball,” said Athletic Director Phillip Fulmer. “His visionary thinking paved the way for the Vol Network's rise to prominence as the standard bearer for intercollegiate athletics marketing and broadcasting.”

Ward died at his home in Knoxville Wednesday evening. He was 88. ESPN reported Ward had been battling a lengthy illness.

“The University of Tennessee has lost one of its most beloved ambassadors,” Fulmer said in a statement issued by the university.

Ward, who earned his law degree in 1954 at the University of Tennessee College of Law in Knoxville, pursued a career in radio and advertising, and broadcast his first Tennessee basketball game in 1958.

After service in the Army, he returned to Knoxville and in 1964 began announcing both UT football and basketball games and other team programs.

He was the voice of the Volunteers for decades.

“He was a big part of my football life there at the University of Tennessee, and he was a part of all Tennessee football fans' lives,” wrote heralded Tennessee and NFL quarterback Peyton Manning. “His voice and his passion for the Tennessee Vols are simply unmatched.”

Ward's final football broadcast was the 1999 Fiesta Bowl, the first BCS national championship, in which Tennessee defeated Florida State to win its second undisputed national championship.