UW-Madison’s WSUM named Best College Station in the Nation

WSUM, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s student radio station, has been named Best College Station in the Nation by Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS).

WSUM students were presented with this award at the IBS conference in New York City on Saturday, February 21, 2026. The following day, WSUM celebrated its 24th year on the air.

The IBS Media Awards program is a nation-wide contest with more than 3,000 entries from more than 100 schools across the country and globe. All contest entries are produced entirely by students.

In order to qualify for Best College Station in the Nation, WSUM was first recognized as Best College/University Station of schools with more than 10,000 students. The IBS Media committee then judged WSUM against all college radio and television stations at schools of any size, and awarded WSUM its highest honor.

In addition to winning Best College Station in the Nation, WSUM was also recognized with four other IBS Media Awards:

Former WSUM sportscasters Anthony Winker and Evan Schmid won Best Hockey Play-by-Play.

WSUM news and sports director Nathan Jahn won Best News Interview.

Former WSUM web director Camille Forster won Best Phone App.

WSUM Student Radio won Best College/University Station (10,000+ students).

The Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) is an organization that supports both college and high school media outlets and organizations. Since its inception in 1940, IBS has proudly been led by volunteers who are passionate about student media.

WSUM is the student-run community radio station at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Its mission is to act in a service and outreach capacity for the students of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and people of Madison and surrounding communities, to provide an educational environment and valuable hands-on experiences as a teaching and learning tool for students and to provide an alternative source of information and entertainment to the campus and community. WSUM broadcasts at 91.7 FM in the greater Madison area and worldwide at WSUM.org or via its mobile app.

Media Contact:
Kelsey Brannan
Director of Student Radio, UW-Madison | General Manager, WSUM
608-843-9786 | gm@wsum.wisc.edu