Vol Network
The Vol Network is the radio and television network of the University of Tennessee Volunteers men's and women's sports teams known as the Vols and Lady Vols. The network was established in 1949, and since 2019, it has been operated by Learfield IMG College. 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
| Type | Radio network Television network |
|---|---|
| Branding | Vol Network (general) Lady Vol Network (women’s basketball) |
| Country | |
| Headquarters | Knoxville, Tennessee |
Broadcast area | Tennessee (statewide) northern Alabama eastern Arkansas northern Georgia southwestern and southcentral Kentucky far northern Mississippi (limited) western North Carolina southwestern Virginia |
| Owner | IMG College University of Tennessee (UTK Sports & Campus Marketing) |
| Parent | Learfield |
| Established | 1949 (as a radio network) |
| Affiliations | Tennessee Volunteers Tennessee Lady Volunteers |
| Affiliates | 44 (Radio) 7 (Television) |
Official website | utsports.com/sports/2017/6/15/volnetwork.aspx |
The Vol Network is the radio and television network of the University of Tennessee Volunteers men's and women's sports teams known as the Vols and Lady Vols. The network was established in 1949, and since 2019, it has been operated by Learfield IMG College.[1]
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
[edit]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 1977–78 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]
On-air personalities
[edit]- Mike Keith, Director of programming and Play-by-play announcer (2025–present)
- Mickey Dearstone - Play-by-play commentator (Women's Basketball, 1998–present) [5]
- Tim Priest, Color analyst (football, 1999-2021)
- Bert Bertelkamp, Color Analyst (basketball 1999-2025)
- Chris Lofton, Color Analyst (basketball 2025-present)
- John Wilkerson, Studio game day host
- Brent Hubbs, spotter and reporter
- Pat Ryan, Color Analyst (football, 2022-2025)
Notable personalities
[edit]- 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
- Lindsey Nelson, first broadcaster on Vol Network (1948–1951)
- Jeff Francis, football sideline reporter (1999–2006)[7]
Programming
[edit]Current television programming
[edit]- The Rick Barnes Show (2015–present) - men's basketball coach's show
Recent former television programming
[edit]- The Pat Summitt Show (1974–2012) - women's basketball coach's show
- The Holly Warlick Show (2012–2019) - women's basketball coach's show
- The Bruce Pearl Show (2005–2011) - men's basketball coach's show; revived onto the Auburn IMG Sports TV Network in 2015
- The Cuonzo Martin Show (2011–2014) - men's basketball coach's show
- The Donnie Tyndall Show (2014–2015) - men's basketball coach's show
- The Phillip Fulmer Show (1992–2008) - football coach's show
- The Derek Dooley Show (2010–2012) - football coach's show
- The Butch Jones Show (2013–2017) - football coach's show
Radio programming
[edit]- 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
[edit]| 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 | 11.1 | CBS | |
| 11.2 | ABC | |||
| Knoxville | WVLT-TV | 8.1 | CBS | Flagship station of the Vol Network's TV programming |
| 8.2 | MyNetworkTV | |||
| 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
[edit]| Callsign/Station Name | Service Area | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| FanDuel Sports Network Southeast (formerly SportSouth and Fox Sports Southeast) [8][9] |
Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, southeast North Carolina | Also available nationwide via Dish Network and DirecTV |
Former TV affiliates
[edit]| 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
[edit]Current affiliates
[edit]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 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
[edit]| 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 | |
| WUCH | 96.9 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
[edit]| City (Station location in parentheses if not city of license) |
Callsign | Frequency/Band | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murphy, North Carolina | WCVP | 600 AM | Football only | |
| Bridgeport, Alabama | WJTW | 106.1 FM / 1480 AM | Football & Basketball | |
| Elsewhere in the USA | SiriusXM | n/a | [12] | Varsity Network |
Former affiliates
[edit]Tennessee
[edit]| 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 WLFM | |
| 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
[edit]- Waynesville, North Carolina - WMXF-AM 1400 (football only, disaffiliated in 2010?)
- Sheffield, Alabama - WSHF AM 1380 (football only, disaffiliated in 1990s)
Sponsors
[edit]See also
[edit]- Tennessee Volunteers
- Tennessee Volunteers basketball
- Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
- Tennessee Volunteers football
- WKCE - Tennessee Sports Radio - Knoxville's local sports radio station (not part of the Vol Network).
- UK Sports Network - Kentucky’s statewide radio and TV network for the Vols’ SEC rival Kentucky Wildcats.
References
[edit]- ^ IMG College - University of Tennessee, Knoxville IMGCollege.com. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
- ^ UTSports.com Vol Radio Network Archived from the original October 18, 2000. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ^ 2015-16 Tennessee Lady Vols Basketball Media Guide Archived April 22, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, page 210.
- ^ Tennessee Football 2008 Media Guide - p. 209
- ^ 2014-15 Tennessee Lady Vols Basketball Record Book, page 206.
- ^ Vol Network Staff UTSports.com
- ^ Williams, Steve (December 2, 2013). "Jeff Francis chose coaching over reporting football". The Knoxville Focus. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
- ^ Vol Network Coaches Shows
- ^ SportSouth Acquires Rights Package to UT Events
- ^ “Vol Network Football Affiliates” Archived October 22, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. UTsports.com.
- ^ “Vol Network Basketball Affiliates” Archived October 22, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. UTsports.com.
- ^ Tennessee Football 2012 Media Guide - p. 401
External links
[edit]- UTSports.com Official Website for University of Tennessee Athletics
- Vol Network on Facebook
- @VolNetwork_IMG on Twitter
- Tennessee Vol Network Online Store
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