The Station

Between 1952 and 1993, five different stations attempted to bring student radio to campus. Each fell short for reasons ranging from money troubles to run-ins with the FCC over, let's say, "creative station wiring."

UW student radio gained the support of two men whose efforts would become essential to its success: Dr. James Hoyt, who had been involved in previous efforts to create student radio on campus, and Dave Black, who would become WSUM's first general manager.

Before WSUM could debut on the air, a series of legal battles over its "eyesore" of a radio tower with the town of Montrose, Wisconsin threatened its existence. Thanks to the continued efforts of Dr. Hoyt and Dave Black, along with the support of UW-Madison's Chancellor John Wiley, WSUM was eventually granted the right to continue construction on its tower.

WSUM officially began broadcasting on February 22, 2002 at 2:22 pm from Vilas Hall and has been going strong ever since. The station can now be found at 333 East Campus Mall, Suite 4100 in the Student Activities Center.

WSUM has gone global, with thousands of listeners in multiple countries around the world. WSUM has earned and maintained a reputation as an eminent voice in college broadcasting. WSUM is a proud and active member of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association and College Broadcasters, Inc. and has won a myriad of statewide and national awards for its dynamic and talk programming, live sports broadcasts, and news coverage.