Rodeo fans mourn death of man behind the voice of Dixie National Rodeo
Published 3:24 pm Wednesday, December 13, 2023
The man behind the voice of the Dixie National Rodeo for more than two decades has passed away.
Mike Mathis died Wednesday morning, according to a social media post from Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson.
With great sadness I learned this morning my good friend, the one and only Mike Mathis passed away and went to be with the Lord. For over 25 years Mike has been the voice of the Dixie National Rodeo. He was my friend. His voice and presence will be missed, but never forgotten. pic.twitter.com/USAXrZdTUl
— Commissioner Andy Gipson (@CommAndyGipson) December 13, 2023
“With great sadness, I learned this morning my good friend, the one and only Mike Mathis passed away and went to be with the Lord,” Gipson posted. “For over 25 years, Mike has been the voice of the Dixie National Rodeo. He was my friend. His voice and presence will be missed but never forgotten.”
SuperTalk Mississippi News reports that Mathis said he never intended to be a rodeo announcer. Mathis said in an interview that he decided to give amateur announcing a try during his time off from being on the rodeo team at Stephen F. Austin
Mathis then decided to leave his banking job behind and announce rodeos full-time. He announced for rodeos across the U.S. for nearly four decades.
