The University of Toledo and Rocket Sports Properties has announced that WKNR 850 AM in Cleveland has been added to the recently created Rocket Radio Network.
The other two stations in the network are WSPD 1370 AM in Toledo, the flagship station for the network, and WDTW 1310 AM in Detroit.
All three stations in the network will carry every Rocket football and men’s basketball game in 2009-10. The weekly coaches’ shows, as well as “The Daily Report,” will be carried on WSPD and WDTW. “The Daily Report” is a new two-minute mini-program highlighting UT Athletics that will air five times a week.
Rocket women’s basketball will continue to be carried in Toledo on WSPD’s sister station, WCWA 1230 AM.
The major sponsor for the Rocket Radio Network will be The University of Toledo.
WKNR’s signal is 4,700 watts during the day and 50,000 watts at night. An ESPN affiliate, WKNR will partner with sister station KNR2 (WWGK 1540 AM) to cover Rocket football and men’s basketball games if there are scheduling conflicts.
“WKNR is a great addition to our Rocket Radio Network,” said UT Athletic Director Mike O’Brien. “With the coverage areas of our three stations, Rocket fans from throughout much of northern Ohio and southeast Michigan will now be able to follow our football and men’s basketball teams on the radio.”
WSPD AM 1370 in Toledo will serve as the flagship station for the new network. The 2009 season will mark the 43rd year that Rocket football games will be broadcast on the station. WSPD, which has a continuous 5,000-watt signal, has broadcast UT football and basketball games for all but one year since 1965. Mark Beier, the “voice of the Rockets,” will enter his 15th season as play-by-play announcer, while Rocket Hall of Famer Tom Duncan will debut as the color commentator.
UT’s multimedia rights holder is Rocket Sports Properties, a property of Learfield Sports, which manages such rights for more than 50 collegiate institutions and associations. Learfield Sports also titles the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, manages marketing partnerships for the Black Coaches & Administrators, and provides exclusive sports programming to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the country.
Dallas-based Learfield Sports is an operating unit of Jefferson City, Mo.-based Learfield Communications Inc., which made its initial foray into the world of sports marketing in 1975 as the radio rights holder for the University of Missouri.
For more information, visit learfieldsports.com.
