KUCA (FM)

KUCA (91.3 FM) is the student-run radio station of the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) in Conway, Arkansas, United States.

KUCA
Frequency91.3 MHz
BrandingThe Bear 91.3
Programming
FormatCollege radio; hot adult contemporary
Ownership
OwnerUniversity of Central Arkansas
History
First air date
October 10, 1966 (1966-10-10)[1]: 385 
Former call signs
KASC (1966–1975)
Former frequencies
91.5 MHz
Call sign meaning
University of Central Arkansas
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID69401
ClassA
ERP5,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates
35°2′55.3″N 92°27′49.5″W
Links
Public license information
Websiteuca.edu/kuca/

History

The then-Arkansas State Teachers College applied on May 7, 1966, to build a new noncommercial FM radio station which would operate with 10 watts on 91.5 MHz.[3] A construction permit was granted on August 9, 1966, and two months later, KASC debuted as the second noncommercial radio station in Arkansas.[1]: 385  It initially broadcast seven hours a day, six days a week.[4] KASC was not the first radio station to be located at the college: the short-lived FM station KOWN and its successor KCON (1230 AM) were both housed at the Main Building, and the relocation of the latter allowed space for the establishment of a noncommercial outlet.[5] The call letters were changed to KUCA in April 1975 after the then-State College of Arkansas was elevated to university status.[3]

When it began broadcasting, the station had an easy listening music format; by the 1990s, KUCA mostly broadcast public radio programs from NPR and the BBC.[5] Agitation for a more student-operated radio station—which initially targeted a format change at KUCA[6]—would find expression on campus when the commercial owners of KCON shut the station down and donated the license to UCA in 1998. However, the university soon moved to convert KUCA into a student-run outlet. In 2001, citing the increased availability of its classical and folk music from other stations and an inability to capture a significant classical audience already loyal to other stations, the university announced it would shutter KUCA and redirect its funds to establish "new media".[7] This did not come to pass, and KUCA was instead folded into the student-run group. In 2007, KCON was closed down to permit the use of its transmitter site for UCA expansion, and its UCA sports programming moved to the FM station.[8]

On Tuesday, July 11, 2023, KUCA closed all operations from their old offices and studios in the basement and went live from their new state of the art studio on the main floor of the Ronnie Williams Student Center in the heart of UCA’s campus. The station has an expanded music library now spanning the 80s, 90s, early 2000s, with the hits of today in rotation as well. KUCA continues to air UCA athletics events throughout the year, and also began streaming full time in the fall of 2022 on their own UCA website along with being featured on the TuneIn app.

References
  1. Poindexter, Ray (1974). Arkansas Airwaves (PDF). Retrieved August 10, 2021 – via World Radio History.
  2. "Facility Technical Data for KUCA". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. FCC History Cards for KUCA
  4. "Student Radio Station Set At Conway". Camden News. Associated Press. October 8, 1965. p. 1. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  5. Meisel, Jay (October 15, 1996). "College radio station marking 30 years in Conway". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. p. 1B.
  6. Meisel, Jay (November 8, 1997). "UCA station fighting campaign to change format to Top 40". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. p. B1.
  7. Meisel, Jay (February 1, 2001). "UCA to shut down FM station, redirect funds to new media". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. p. B1.
  8. McCollum, David (March 4, 2007). "Plug pulled on KCON". Log Cabin.
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