Vol Network

The Vol Network is the radio and television network of the University of Tennessee Volunteers women's and men's sports teams known as the Vols and Lady Vols. Established in 1949 and since 2019, it has been operated by Learfield IMG College.[1]

Vol Network
TypeRadio network
Television network
BrandingVol Network (general)
Lady Vol Network (women’s basketball)
Country
United States
HeadquartersKnoxville, Tennessee
Broadcast area
Tennessee (statewide)
northern Alabama
eastern Arkansas
northern Georgia
southwestern and southcentral Kentucky
far northern Mississippi (limited)
western North Carolina
southwestern Virginia
OwnerIMG College
University of Tennessee (UTK Sports & Campus Marketing)
ParentIMG
Established1949 (as a radio network)
Affiliation(s)Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee Lady Volunteers
Affiliates44 (Radio)
7 (Television)
Official website
utsports.com/sports/2017/6/15/volnetwork.aspx

It consists of two regional sports networks, about 67 radio stations (both AM and FM), as well as eight television stations across Tennessee, also serving varied portions of neighboring states, depending on the station and market.

Some of the Tennessee Vols’ pre-season exhibition and early season basketball games are also streamed via UTSports.com

History

The first Tennessee Volunteers football game radio broadcast was produced by the Vol Radio Network in 1949. [2] The name of the radio network was given by the legendary Robert R. Neyland, with Lindsey Nelson serving as the first-ever play-by-play announcer.

Men's basketball games were added to the Vol Network's portfolio in the early 1950s. The Vol Network began broadcasting Tennessee Lady Vols basketball games in the 1977-1978 season. [3] When the Vol Network airs the women's basketball broadcasts, it is identified as the Lady Vol Network. It is claimed to be the largest women's college basketball radio network in the country.

Host Communications managed media rights to University of Tennessee athletics, and operated the Vol Network from 1989 until November 2007, when Host Communications merged with IMG College, a division of IMG.[4] IMG College has multimedia rights to UT sports through at least 2017.[5]

On-air personalities
  • Bob Kesling, Director of programming and Play-by-play announcer (1999-present) [6] 1977 UT graduate; originally with WBIR-TV and Jefferson-Pilot Sports for the SEC syndicated TV package.
  • Mickey Dearstone - Play-by-play commentator (Women's Basketball, 1998/99-present) [7]
  • Tim Priest, Color analyst (football)
  • Bert Bertelkamp, Color Analyst (basketball)
  • John Wilkerson, Studio game day host
  • Brent Hubbs, spotter and reporter
  • Pat Ryan, analyst (football)

Notable personalities
  • John Ward, the “Voice of the Vols” (1968-1999 football; 1965-1999 basketball), famous for the phrase, “It’s Football Time in Tennessee,” and his touchdown call,”Give him six!” [6]
  • Bill Anderson, former football color analyst and broadcasting partner of Ward

Programming

Current television programming
  • The Jeremy Pruitt Show (2018-present) - football coach's show
  • The Rick Barnes Show (2015-present) - men's basketball coach's show

Recent former television programming

Radio programming
  • Big Orange Hotline - Monday evenings during football season (Knoxville, Tri-Cities, Nashville, and Chattanooga area affiliates only)
  • Vol Calls - Monday Nights 8:00-9:00 PM ET (7:00-8:00 PM CT)
  • The Rick Barnes Show - men's basketball coach's show (radio version)
  • Tennessee Tip-off Show - men's basketball pre-game show

Television affiliates
City of license (Market) Station Channel Primary affiliation Notes
Chattanooga WTVC 9.1 ABC
Jackson (TN) WJKT 16.1 FOX
EPlusTV6 6 (cable only) Independent The Holly Warlick Show only
Johnson City
(Kingsport/Bristol, TN-VA)		 WJHL-TV
WJHL-DT2		 11.1
11.2		 CBS
ABC
Knoxville WVLT-TV
WVLT-DT2		 8.1
8.2		 CBS
MyNetworkTV		 Flagship stations of the Vol Network's TV programming
Memphis WATN-TV 24.1 ABC
WLMT 30.1 The CW Replays of Vol Network TV shows from WATN
Nashville WZTV 17.1 Fox Also serves the Bowling Green, Kentucky area by default
WUXP 30.1 MyNetworkTV


Regional Sports Networks
Callsign/Station Name Service Area Notes
Fox Sports Southeast
(formerly SportSouth) [8][9]		 Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, southeast North Carolina Also available nationwide via Dish Network and DirecTV

Former TV affiliates
Callsign/Station Name Service Area Notes
Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia Defunct as of June 1, 2014
WMYA Spartanburg, SC-Asheville, NC Licensed to Anderson, SC; Disaffiliated as of 2013
WMC-TV Memphis, Tennessee Disaffiliated in 2013, coach's TV shows moved to WATN and WLMT
WPXX-TV Disaffiliated in 2008; secondary TV affiliate
WKPT-TV Tri-Cities Disaffiliated in 2013; replaced by WJHL
WAPK-CD/WKPT-DT2

Radio affiliates

Current affiliates

Tennessee Volunteers games played at night used to be heard across 28 states in the eastern half of the United States and three provinces in eastern Canada thanks to a previous affiliation deal with Nashville's 50,000 watt Clear-channel AM station WLAC. This ended in 2010 when that station lost the Vol Network affiliation to WGFX.

All affiliates broadcast men's and women's basketball as well as UT football unless otherwise stated in the notes column. [10] [11] Fans out of range of all stations can also listen to the game broadcasts via the TuneIn and UT GameDay app or via the University of Tennessee sports website.

Tennessee
City
(Station location in parentheses if not city of license)		 Callsign Frequency/Band Notes
Knoxville WNML 990 AM Flagship station of the network
WNML 99.1 FM Full-time repeater of flagship station WNML-AM 990
WIVK 107.7 FM Football and Men's Basketball only
Baxter (Cookeville) WBXE 93.7 FM
Bolivar WMOD 96.7 FM Football and women's basketball
Bristol
(Kingsport/Johnson City, Tennessee/Bristol, Virginia)		 WOPI 1490 AM
Brownsville WTBG 95.3 FM Football only
Camden WRJB 98.3 FM
Carthage WUCZ 104.1 FM Football only
Centerville WNKX 96.7 FM
Calhoun
(Athens/Cleveland)		 WCLE 104.1 FM
Chattanooga WGOW 1150 AM Women's basketball only
WSKZ 106.5 FM Football only
Clarksville WNZE 1400 AM Football only; basketball can be heard in this area via WGFX/Gallatin
Cleveland WCLE AM 1570 Women ‘s basketball only
Cookeville WGSQ 94.7 FM
Columbia WKOM 101.7 FM
Covington WKBQ 93.5 FM
Crossville WOWF 102.5 FM
Dickson WDKN 1260 AM Football only
W268BN 101.5 FM Football only; translator of WDKN
Dredsden (Martin/Paris) WCDZ 95.1 FM Also serves southwest Kentucky, including Fulton and Mayfield
Dyersburg WTRO 1450 AM Football only; can also be heard from Carruthersville, Missouri
Elizabethton WKPP 1520 AM Football only
Erwin WEMB AM 1420
Fayetteville WYTM 105.5 FM Football and men's basketball; can also serve Huntsville, Alabama
Franklin WAKM 950 AM Football and men's basketball
Gallatin (Nashville) WGFX 104.5 FM All sports broadcasts; also serves as the secondary Vol Network station for the Clarksville, TN/Hopkinsville, KY area, and also serves parts of south-central Kentucky, including Bowling Green
Greeneville WGRV 1340 AM Football and women's basketball
WIKQ 103.1 FM
Hartsville WTNK 1090 AM Men's basketball only
Jackson WDXI 1310 AM Football and men's basketball
WMXX 103.1 FM Football only
Johnson City WQUT 101.5 FM Football only; also serves Kingsport and Bristol
Jonesborough
(Johnson City)		 WKTP 1590 AM
Kingsport WKPT 1400 AM
WKOS 104.9 FM
Lafayette WLCT 102.1 FM Football only
Lenoir City WLIL 730 AM Football and men's basketball
WKZX-FM 93.5 FM Football only
Lewisburg WJJM 1490 AM
WJJM 94.3 FM Football and men's basketball
Lexington (Jackson) WBFG 95.9 FM
Livingston WLIV 920 AM
WLIV 95.9 FM
Livingston (Cookeville) WLQK 95.9 FM Women's basketball only
Madisonville WRKZ 1250 AM Men's basketball only
Manchester WFTZ 101.5 FM Also serves Tullahoma
Martin WCMT 1410 AM Football only
McKimmon (Paris) WTPR-FM 101.7 FM
McMinnville WAKI 1230 AM Men's basketball only
WKZA 107.3 FM Football only
Memphis WMFS 680 AM
WMFS 92.9 FM
Morristown WCRK 1150 AM
Newport WLIK 1270 AM
Oneida WBNT 105.5 FM
Paris WTPR 710 AM
Parsons WKJQ 97.3 FM Football only
Pulaski WKSR 1420 AM
WLXA 98.3 FM
Savannah WKWX 93.5 FM
Smithville WJLE 1480 AM
WJLE 101.7 FM
Soddy-Daisy (Chattanooga) WGOW-FM 102.3 FM Football and men's and women's basketball
Union City WENK 1240 AM Also serves Fulton, Kentucky and South Fulton, Tennessee
Wartburg WECO 101.3 FM
Waverly WQMV 1060 AM Football only
Winchester WCDT 1340 AM

Other areas
City
(Station location in parentheses if not city of license)		 Callsign Frequency/Band Notes
Murphy, North Carolina WCVP 600 AM Football only
Elsewhere in the USA XM Satellite Radio n/a [12]

Tennessee
City
(Station location in parentheses if not city of license)		 Callsign Frequency/Band Notes
Ashland City WQSV 790 AM Women's basketball only; disaffiliated in 2015
Athens WAYA 93.9 FM
Cookeville WHUB AM 1400 Moved to WBXE and WGSQ
Cowan (Winchester) WZYX AM 1440
Crossville WCSV AM 1490 Moved to WOWF
Knoxville WNOX AM 1440 Former flagship
La Follette (Jacksboro) WQLA 104.9 FM
Lawrenceburg WDXE 95.9 FM
WTNX 106.7 FM station sold to Educational Media Foundation; now K-LOVE WLWB
Memphis WREC AM 600
Murfreesboro WBOZ 104.9 FM
WGNS AM 1450 Affiliated 199?-2005
Nashville WLAC 1510 AM Affiliation moved to WGFX/Gallatin in 2010. This staton's night-time signal granted access to nighttime Tennessee Vols football and basketball games to listeners in much of the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. and in three Canadian provinces.
WNRQ 105.9 FM Disaffiliated in 2010
Portland WQKR AM 1270 Disaffiliated in 2010. Could also serve Franklin, Kentucky.
Ripley WTRB AM 1570
South Pittsburg WEPG AM 910
Waynesboro WWON AM 930 Football-only affiliate; Disaffiliated in 2013

Other states

Sponsors

See also

References
  1. IMG College - University of Tennessee, Knoxville IMGCollege.com. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  2. UTSports.com Vol Radio Network Archived from the original October 18, 2000. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  3. 2015-16 Tennessee Lady Vols Basketball Media Guide, page 210.
  4. Tennessee Football 2008 Media Guide - p. 209
  5. Tennessee Awards Multi-Media Rights To IMG College Through 2017
  6. Vol Network Staff UTSports.com
  7. 2014-15 Tennessee Lady Vols Basketball Record Book, page 206.
  8. Vol Network Coaches Shows
  9. SportSouth Acquires Rights Package to UT Events
  10. “Vol Network Football Affiliates”. UTsports.com.
  11. “Vol Network Basketball Affiliates”. UTsports.com.
  12. Tennessee Football 2012 Media Guide - p. 401
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.