Texas radio broadcasts moving to The Zone as part of a new agreement
Starting this fall, Texas fans will listen to the Longhorns on a different radio station.
Texas and LEARFIELD announced on Thursday that an agreement has been reached with iHeartMedia Austin to make KVET-AM 1300 The Zone the flagship radio station for the Longhorns. Starting this fall, The Zone and KVET-FM 98.1 will broadcast UT's football and men's basketball games.
Broadcast information for other UT sports and the football game's Spanish-language broadcasts will be announced later.
"The move of our network’s flagship radio station to KVET is a huge win for our fans in Austin and central Texas," UT athletic director Chris Del Conte said in a statement. "No matter where you are in that footprint, you’ll get your Horns loud and clear from kickoff, tipoff or first pitch. Then you add the cherry on top to this deal with our network’s partnership with the mighty brand of iHeartMedia, and we’ve hit a home run in every way."
What's happening to the previous Longhorn radio network, 'The Horn'?
For the past seven years, The Horn has served as the home of UT football, men's basketball and baseball broadcasts. Texas women's basketball and softball games were aired on The Bat, which is a sister station within the Austin Radio Network.
A station source told the American-Statesman that The Horn is going off the air on Aug. 1. In addition to the broadcast of UT athletic events, the Horn also is the home of several local talk shows.
Speculation about the future of UT broadcasts began in May when Austin Radio Network stations went off the air for an entire weekend after the company was locked out of its office building by its landlord over what KVUE reported was a rent dispute. With its baseball and softball teams both on the road that weekend, Texas pivoted and streamed those broadcasts on an app and the athletic department's official website.
Ahead of the 2015-16 school year, Texas inked a seven-year broadcasting arrangement with the Austin Radio Network that made The Horn the Longhorns' flagship station. The Statesman reported at the time that the deal was worth $600,000 annually.
No financial details of UT's new venture have been released yet.
In its press release, Texas stated that veteran broadcaster Craig Way will continue in his role as "The Voice of the Longhorns." Way has called UT games for 23 years.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football, basketball games moving to new radio stations
