Wittenberg Athletic Broadcasts Find New Home On Radio Dial

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Wittenberg University athletic teams have found a new home on the radio dial, WUSO-FM, the student-run campus radio station that can be found at the 89.1 frequency in the Springfield area. The first game, a men's basketball contest between Wittenberg and Ohio Northern University, was carried on the station's airwaves on Monday, Dec. 22. The next broadcast is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 30, when the Tiger men's and women's basketball teams host a doubleheader that begins at 5:30 p.m. in the HPER Center.

"This is an exciting step forward for Wittenberg athletics," said Garnett Purnell, Wittenberg's director of athletics and recreation. "Working with the student radio station and utilizing its strong FM signal, we hope to bring more of our athletic events to the Springfield community than ever before."

Wittenberg games previously have been carried on commercial stations in the Springfield area, most recently on WULM-AM. But the station's decision not to carry women's basketball games during the 2003-04 season led to the decision to move all Wittenberg athletic broadcasts to the student station for at least the remainder of this school year.

Part of what made WUSO-FM attractive is an anticipated upgrade to its broadcasting facilities, which is expected to take place in the next few months. The station received a new license last summer and will offer a much stronger signal when the improvements are completed.

While the location on the radio dial is new, familiar voices will still be heard calling the Wittenberg games. Marty Bannister, Voice of the Tigers for men's basketball and football for more than a decade, continues in that role the majority of the time, while Scott Leo, Voice of the Tigers for women's basketball the last three years, continues in that role as well. Whenever other commitments create conflicts for Bannister, Leo will fill in as needed. When the new semester begins Jan. 12, students will join the broadcasts as well.

The broadcasts on the higher quality FM station have already had a positive impact on Wittenberg's online broadcasts. Since September 2003, Stretch Internet has been under contract to provide Wittenberg fans with free Internet broadcasts, and the broadcast of the game against Ohio Northern is the highest quality one to date.

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