The Nashville Kats of the Arena Football League have named legendary broadcaster Eli Gold to be the Voice of the Nashville Kat as their play-by-play announcer for all games this season.
The Kats have also secured a flagship radio broadcast agreement with Cromwell Media in Nashville for all games this season to be carried on either 102.5
The Game or 93.3 Classic Hits.
Gold was the Voice of Alabama Crimson Tide football for 35 years. He called seven national championship games, 11 Southeastern Conference championship games and 35 bowl games.
“It is an honor and privilege for the Kats to have the legendary Eli Gold be our voice and be part of our franchise in a variety of ways,” said Nashville Kats founding partner and CEO Tamara Dadd Alan, an Alabama graduate. “We are not only excited to hear him on the calls of our games, but also how he will become a leader in the community as part of our franchise outreach.”
The Kats play 10 regular-season games this season with five home games at historic Municipal Auditorium in downtown Nashville. The season opener versus the Minnesota Myth is slated for Saturday, April 27. The Kats also play the Georgia Force on Saturday, May 18 at the new F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville.
Gold’s multiple hall-of-fame career also includes being a leading radio voice of NASCAR and extensive work previously with the former Nashville Kats and the Arena Football League on NBC and TNN national telecasts.
“I am so very excited about returning to the Arena Football League as the voice of the Nashville Kats,” Gold said. “I say returning, because I was the TV voice of the league back when the games were on NBC and TNN, and I came to love the product.”
Cromwell Radio is also broadcast partners with the Nashville Predators, Nashville Sounds, Vanderbilt athletics and MTSU athletics and is Middle Tennessee’s ESPN Radio affiliate.
“We are thrilled to be a part of the return of the AFL and the Nashville Kats franchise,” Cromwell Media Nashville general manager Shawn Fort said. “In addition to the great people involved like Jeff Fisher and Eli Gold, we are excited for the opportunity to continue to connect on a local level with football fans in Middle Tennessee.”
Former Titans and Rams head coach Jeff Fisher is Partner and President of Football Operations of the Nashville Kats. The team has named Arena Football League veteran and championship winning Dean Cokinos as head coach.
“The Nashville Kats are a franchise with a great history of success,” Gold said, “and now with Jeff Fisher and Dean Cokinos heading the football operations, the new Kats should pick right up where the old Kats left off. I look forward to bringing you all the action of the 50-yard indoor war.”
Gold has been named Alabama Sportscaster of the Year four times by the National Sportscaster and Sportswriter Association. He has also been named Alabama Sportscaster of the Year by the Associated Press twice and Alabama Sportscaster of the Year by the United Press International.
“Eli is the gold standard of sports announcing,” Fisher said. “We are very excited to have him be a key component in helping us return the Nashville Kats and the Arena Football League to the Music City.”
The Kats will hold a player tryout open to the public on Saturday, Feb. 24 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at Lipscomb Academy. Visit TheNashvilleKats.com for more information and/or to register.
“Like many folks in Nashville, I enjoyed attending Kats games when they were here before” Cromwell Media Nashville director of operations and sports programming Chase McCabe said. “It was a can’t miss opportunity to be associated with the return of a great franchise and to also be able to work with two iconic names like Jeff Fisher and Eli Gold. I can’t wait to get started with a great partnership.”
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