Ex-Voice Of Alabama Eli Gold Now Has 2 Jobs - Jacksonville State, Nashville Kats

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The fired former Voice of Alabama Football Eli Gold has landed a second new job. 

He will be the television voice of Jacksonville State in Jacksonville, Alabama, near Birmingham for football, men's basketball and baseball. And he may do some radio in a pinch along with the regular radio voice Mike Parris, who has been there for four decades.

"My voice is good," Gold told the Anniston Star newspaper Thursday. "My brain is sharp. Everything is good. So, I was quick to accept the offer, and I'm looking forward to it." 

Jacksonville State is a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) school that competes in Conference-USA. Gold does not have to move from his home in Birmingham, which is slightly more than an hour from Jacksonville.

Eli Gold (center) before an Alabama game with former analyst Phil Savage (left) and Chris Stewart, who has replaced Gold as the Voice of Crimson Tide football. (Photo Courtesy of University of Alabama).

Since news broke that Alabama let Gold, 70, go on Feb. 22, basically for losing his fastball, according to Alabama athletic officials, after recovering from cancer, Gold immediately began doing interviews for prospective jobs, he told OutKick on Thursday. Within a day, the Nashville Kats Arena League football team hired him to announce their games. The Kats' regular season runs from April 27 through June 29. There will only be a minimal number of conflicts to work out.

Eli Gold Wanted A Fast Return To The Booth

"It's a good situation for me," Gold told OutKick. "The people at Jacksonville State (including athletic director Greg Seitz) have been friends of mine for years. I needed to get back to work quick so everybody knows I'm healthy. Just because the University (of Alabama) didn't want me any longer doesn't mean no one wants me. But that was Alabama's decision."

Jacksonville State officials contacted Gold as soon as news broke about Gold leaving Alabama, where he was the Voice of Crimson Tide football beginning in 1988. He missed the 2022 season recovering from cancer and other health issues. Voice of Alabama basketball and baseball Chris Stewart, who replaced Gold for football in '22, is the new Voice of Alabama football.

"They called me within a few hours after I was cut loose by Alabama," Gold said. "I've been blessed."

Gold used to announce the minor league Birmingham Barons baseball in the 1980s and did Crimson Tide baseball as well. 

"I love baseball," he said. 

Gold's first game will be on March 19 when Jax State hosts Samford (7 p.m, ESPN+).

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Guilbeau joined OutKick as an SEC columnist in September of 2021 after covering LSU and the Saints for 17 years at USA TODAY Louisiana. He has been a national columnist/feature writer since the summer of 2022, covering college football, basketball and baseball with some NFL, NBA, MLB, TV and Movies and general assignment, including hot dog taste tests. A New Orleans native and Mizzou graduate, he has consistently won Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) awards since covering Alabama and Auburn at the Mobile Press-Register (1993-98) and LSU and the Saints at the Baton Rouge Advocate (1998-2004). In 2021, Guilbeau won an FWAA 1st for a game feature, placed in APSE Beat Writing, Breaking News and Explanatory, and won Beat Writer of the Year from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA). He won an FWAA columnist 1st in 2017 and was FWAA's top overall winner in 2016 with 1st in game story, 2nd in columns, and features honorable mention. Guilbeau completed a book in 2022 about LSU's five-time national champion coach - "Everything Matters In Baseball: The Skip Bertman Story" - that is available at www.acadianhouse.com, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble outlets. He lives in Baton Rouge with his wife, the former Michelle Millhollon of Thibodaux who previously covered politics for the Baton Rouge Advocate and is a communications director.