Vol Network
| Type |
Radio network Television network |
|---|---|
| Branding | Vol Network (general) Lady Vol Network (women’s basketball) |
| Country | United States |
| Headquarters | Knoxville, Tennessee |
|
Broadcast area
|
Tennessee (statewide) northern Alabama eastern Arkansas northwest 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 | IMG |
| Established | 1949 (as a radio network) |
| Affiliation |
Tennessee Volunteers Tennessee Lady Volunteers |
| Affiliates | 44 (Radio) 7 (Television) |
|
Official website
|
Vol Network affiliate list @ UTSports.com |
The Vol Network, or the Vol IMG Network, is the radio and television network of the University of Tennessee Volunteers women’s and men’s sports teams, sometimes simply referred to as the “Vols” and “Lady Vols.” Since 1989, it is operated by the IMG College networks.
It consists of two regional sports networks, about 67 radio stations (both AM and FM), as well as eight television stations across Tennessee, some of which also serves 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
The first Tennessee Volunteers football game radio broadcast was produced by the Vol Radio Network in 1949. 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 1977-1978 season. 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. IMG College has multimedia rights to UT sports through at least 2017.
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 AM 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. 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.
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Wikipedia