/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61919279/Peachy_80.0.jpg)
UCF announced on Thursday night that WYGM FM 96.9/AM 740 The Game will remain as the flagship station for the Knights’ radio broadcasts.
The new agreement is a three-year deal that begins with the 2019-20 school year and runs through 2021-22. The 2019-20 school year will mark the 25th consecutive year of UCF Knights’ athletics on The Game. Throughout the new deal, UCF Football and UCF Men’s Basketball will take precedence over any other live event for FM 96.9 and AM 740 The Game.
That is major highlight of the new deal, as there had been speculation on what would happen with UCF Football and Basketball broadcasts with iHeartRadio also acquiring the rights to the Orlando Magic this season. This confirms what had been speculated that Football and Men’s Basketball will have priority over the Magic on nights they conflict.
All UCF contests will also be heard on the iHeartRadio app as well, which was not the case a few years back when UCF had a deal with with IMG Sports.
“We’re extremely fortunate to have such a great radio partner in iHeartMedia and FM 96.9 The Game,” UCF Athletic Director Danny White said in a press release. “We greatly appreciate iHeartMedia’s ability to help us spread the word to Knight Nation through the radio station in the Orlando area and the iHeart Radio app with a world-wide reach. Our radio broadcasts are an important tool for us to continue building our brand and we couldn’t have a better partner.”
The partnership makes sense, especially when the voice of UCF, Marc Daniels, has his radio show “ The Beat of Sports” on from 9 a.m.-noon on the station, and long-time UCF Football sideline reporter Jerry O’Neill is on the station during drive time with The Shot Doctor on their show, “The Finish Line.”
Select UCF Baseball broadcasts will also continue to air on FM 96.9FM/AM 740, although it is not clear how many games it will air on radio, especially with the Orlando Magic having priority over UCF Baseball.
Could it mean more UCF Baseball games online and perhaps we see UCF Baseball on the iHeart Radio app exclusively when the Magic are on the radio? Or could would see UCF Baseball moved to another station?
Those questions will be answered by the time the season starts up in February. The one thing we know is fans will not have to worry about where UCF broadcasts will be found.