WSU’s radio home:
Men’s basketball
WBZI-FM (100.3); myclassiccountry.com; wsuraiders.com
Daytime events
WBZI-AM (1500); WKFI-AM (1090); WEDI-AM (1130)
Citing a wider reach and cost savings, Wright State said Wednesday it will leave its longtime men’s basketball radio home at WONE-AM (980) for Xenia-based WBZI and its affiliates in the Classic Country Radio network with a two-year partnership beginning this season.
WBZI-FM (100.3) will air all WSU men’s basketball games and coach’s shows, and the company’s AM stations — WBZI (1500), WKFI (1090) and WEDI (1130) — will also air day games. All broadcasts will stream on myclassiccountry.com and wsuraiders.com.
The partnership will cost WSU $20,000 per year, which is half of what it paid WONE, WSU officials said. The length of Wright State’s partnership with WONE was not immediately available, but it is believed to have lasted at least 20 years.
“It just clicked, it was a really good match for us,” WSU Athletic Director Bob Grant said of WBZI. “I think the FM presence helps us from a reach standpoint.”
WBZI network president and general manager Joe Mullins purchased WBZI-AM in 1995 and added WKFI-AM and WEDI-AM in the past decade. WBZI’s FM station began broadcasting in February 2010. The network’s reach stretches between Richmond, Ind., Grove City, Piqua and northern Kentucky, WSU said.
“You’ll hear country music on our stations and plenty of twang, but we’re very user-friendly to be full service in the Miami Valley,” Mullins said. “There are so few live and local stations all day, every day, and that’s what we are.”
Nick Gnau, market manager for Clear Channel (which owns WONE), said he was surprised to learn from a reporter that WSU was making the move. Gnau said Clear Channel and WSU were still in the process of negotiating a new contract.
“We will miss our partnership with Wright State University,” Gnau wrote in an email, “but moving forward, WONE will still be the home for the best local and national sports coverage.”
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