As an undergraduate athlete, George Key focused on football while at Baldwin-Wallace. However, during his junior and senior years, he also was a varsity wrestler. As a heavyweight, he placed in the OAC Tournament his junior year. In football, he was a three-year letterman. A center and long snapper, he started in 25 varsity football games. In 1976, he was named First Team, All-OAC. That same year, he won the Ray E. Watts Most Valuable Player Award, the only center in B-W history to have done so. On campus he also served as an officer for his fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega. In the classroom, he pursued a major in health and physical education and a minor in history
While working on his master's degree in education (which he received in 1982), he also helped to coach football, wrestling and women's track. at Baldwin-Wallace.