Ohio State Sports Network

Ohio State Learfield IMG Sports Network
Type	Radio network
Country	United States
Headquarters	Columbus, Ohio
Broadcast area	Ohio; West Virginia (limited)
Owner	IMG College
Affiliation(s)	Ohio State Buckeyes; Tegna, Inc.
Affiliates	68, including 2 flagships
Official website	Ohio State IMG Sports Network

The Ohio State Learfield IMG Sports Network is an American radio network consisting of 68 radio stations which carry coverage of Ohio State Buckeyes football and men's basketball. WBNS/Columbus (1460 AM) and sister station WBNS-FM/Columbus (97.1 FM) serve as the network's 2 flagship stations. The network also includes 66 affiliates in the U.S. states of Ohio and West Virginia: 38 AM stations, 24 of which extend their signals with low-power FM translators; 25 full-power FM stations; and one HD Radio digital subchannel which supplements its signal with a low-power FM translator.^[1]^[2]^[3] Paul Keels has served as play-by-play announcer for both football and men's basketball since 1998; former Ohio State offensive guard Jim Lachey currently serves as color analyst for football; and former Ohio State point guard Ron Stokes currently serves as color analyst for men's basketball.^[4]^[5]^[6]

History[]

In 2009, Ohio State announced it had sold its athletic program's media rights to IMG College and RadiOhio, Inc. (member of the Dispatch Broadcasting Group and then-owner of longtime network flagships WBNS and WBNS-FM); the "lucrative multiyear deal" was reportedly worth $110 million, and scheduled to last through 2019. At the time of the announcement, athletic director Gene Smith said Ohio State athletics would be in a better position to confront the then-ongoing economic downturn, referencing an unexpected $1.2 million deficit.^[7]^[8]

On December 31, 2018, Learfield Communications, Inc., and IMG College merged and formed a new company, Learfield IMG College.

Programming[]

Besides gameday coverage, network programming includes:

Buckeye Roundtable, a two-hour weekly discussion on Buckeyes football, airs Monday evenings.^[9]
The Ryan Day Call-In Show, a weekly season-long update with the football head coach, airs Thursdays at 12pm noon .^[10]

Station list[]

Callsign	Frequency	Band	City	State	Network status
WBNS	1460	AM	Columbus	Ohio	Flagship
WBNS-FM	97.1	FM	Columbus	Ohio	Flagship
WAKR	1590	AM	Akron	Ohio	Affiliate
W228EL	93.5	FM	Akron	Ohio	n/a (WAKR relay)
WMTR-FM	96.1	FM	Archbold	Ohio	Football Only
WFUN	970	AM	Ashtabula	Ohio	Affiliate
WATH	970	AM	Athens	Ohio	Affiliate
W246CE	97.1	FM	Athens	Ohio	n/a (WATH relay)
WPKO-FM	98.3	FM	Bellefontaine	Ohio	Football Only
WQEL	92.7	FM	Bucyrus	Ohio	Affiliate
WBCO	1540	AM	Bucyrus	Ohio	Affiliate
WILE-FM	97.7	FM	Cambridge	Ohio	Affiliate
WHBC	1480	AM	Canton	Ohio	Affiliate
WCSM	1350	AM	Celina	Ohio	Affiliate
WCSM-FM	96.7	FM	Celina	Ohio	Affiliate
WDJO	1480	AM	Cincinnati	Ohio	Affiliate
W258CI	99.5	FM	Cincinnati	Ohio	n/a (WDJO relay)
W300CI	107.9	FM	Cincinnati	Ohio	n/a (WDJO relay)
WKNR	850	AM	Cleveland	Ohio	Affiliate
WTNS-FM	99.3	FM	Coshocton	Ohio	Affiliate
WING	1410	AM	Dayton	Ohio	Affiliate
WGTZ	92.9	FM	Dayton	Ohio	Affiliate
WJER	1450	AM	Dover-New Phila.	Ohio	Affiliate
W265DL	100.9	FM	Dover-New Phila.	Ohio	n/a (WJER relay)
WEOL	930	AM	Elyria	Ohio	Affiliate
WFIN	1330	AM	Findlay	Ohio	Affiliate
W238CX	95.5	FM	Findlay	Ohio	n/a (WFIN relay)
WMAN-FM	98.3	FM	Fredericktown	Ohio	Affiliate
WFOB	1430	AM	Fostoria	Ohio	Affiliate
W289CP	105.7	FM	Fostoria	Ohio	n/a (WFOB relay)
WOHF	92.1	FM	Fremont	Ohio	Affiliate
WRAC	103.1	FM	Georgetown	Ohio	Affiliate
WVNU	97.5	FM	Greenfield	Ohio	Affiliate
WIRO	1230	AM	Ironton	Ohio	Affiliate
WYRO	98.7	FM	Jackson	Ohio	Affiliate
WZWB	1420	AM	Kenova-Huntington	West Virginia	Affiliate
WKTN	95.3	FM	Kenton	Ohio	Football Only
WLOH	1320	AM	Lancaster	Ohio	Affiliate
W283BO	104.5	FM	Lancaster	Ohio	n/a (WLOH relay)
WIMA	1150	AM	Lima	Ohio	Affiliate
W257EQ	99.3	FM	Logan	Ohio	n/a (WLOH relay)
WMAN	1400	AM	Mansfield	Ohio	Affiliate
WMOA	1490	AM	Marietta	Ohio	Affiliate
W267CQ	101.3	FM	Marietta	Ohio	n/a (WMOA relay)
WMRN	1490	AM	Marion	Ohio	Affiliate
WDLR	1270	AM	Marysville	Ohio	Football Only
W244DV	96.7	FM	Marysville	Ohio	n/a (WDLR relay)
WJAW-FM	100.9	FM	McConnelsville	Ohio	Affiliate
WKLM	95.3	FM	Millersburg	Ohio	Football Only
WMVO	1300	AM	Mount Vernon	Ohio	Affiliate
W265DJ	100.9	FM	Mount Vernon	Ohio	n/a (WMVO relay)
WNDH	103.1	FM	Napoleon	Ohio	Affiliate
WCLT	1430	AM	Newark	Ohio	Affiliate
W254CT	98.7	FM	Newark	Ohio	n/a (WCLT relay)
WLKR-FM	95.3	FM	Norwalk	Ohio	Affiliate
WKSD	99.7	FM	Paulding	Ohio	Affiliate
WPTW	1570	AM	Piqua	Ohio	Affiliate
W251BC	98.1	FM	Piqua	Ohio	n/a (WPTW relay)
WNXT	1260	AM	Portsmouth	Ohio	Affiliate
W239CQ	95.7	FM	Portsmouth	Ohio	n/a (WNXT relay)
WMOV	1360	AM	Ravenswood	West Virginia	Affiliate
W228DJ	93.5	FM	Ravenswood	West Virginia	n/a (WMOV relay)
W294AF	106.7	FM	Ripley	West Virginia	n/a (WMOV relay)
WLEC	1450	AM	Sandusky	Ohio	Affiliate
W228EN	93.5	FM	Sandusky	Ohio	n/a (WLEC relay)
WMVR-FM	105.5	FM	Sidney	Ohio	Affiliate
W275CT	102.9	FM	Somerset	Ohio	n/a (WLOH relay)
WCDK	106.3	FM	Steubenville	Ohio	Football Only
WQQO-HD2*	105.5-2	FM	Sylvania	Ohio	Affiliate
W264AK	100.7	FM	Toledo	Ohio	n/a (WQQO-HD2 relay)
WBTC	1540	AM	Uhrichsville	Ohio	Affiliate
W270CI	101.9	FM	Uhrichsville	Ohio	n/a (WBTC relay)
WYNT	95.9	FM	Upper Sandusky	Ohio	Affiliate
WERT	1220	AM	Van Wert	Ohio	Affiliate
W282CF	104.3	FM	Van Wert	Ohio	n/a (WERT relay)
WXIZ	100.9	FM	Waverly	Ohio	Football Only
WKVX	960	AM	Wooster	Ohio	Affiliate
WVLY-AM	1370	AM	Wheeling	West Virginia	Affiliate
W249DU	97.7	FM	Wheeling	West Virginia	n/a (WVLY relay)
WQKT	104.5	FM	Wooster	Ohio	Affiliate
WBBG	106.1	FM	Youngstown	Ohio	Football Only
WNIO	1390	AM	Youngstown	Ohio	Affiliate
WHIZ	1240	AM	Zanesville	Ohio	Affiliate
W272EE	102.3	FM	Zanesville	Ohio	n/a (WHIZ relay)

Asterisk (*) indicates HD Radio broadcast.
Gray background indicates low-power FM translator.

Network map(s)[]

COLUMBUS

Cleveland

Cincinnati

Huntington

Detroit

WBNS

WBNS-FM

WAKR

WATH

WBBG

WBCO

WBTC

WCDK

WCLT

WCSM

WCSM-FM

WDJO

WDLR

WEOL

WERT

WFIN

WFOB

WFUN

WGTZ

WHBC

WING

WJAW-FM

WJER

WKLM

WKNR

WKSD

WKTN

WKVX

WLEC

WLKR-FM

WLOH

WMAN

WMAN-FM

WMOA

WMOV

WMRN

WMTR-FM

WMVO

WMVR-FM

WNDH

WNIO

WNXT

WOHF

WPKO-FM

WPTW

WQEL

WQKT

WQQO-HD2

WRAC

WTNS-FM

WVLY

WVNU

WXIZ

WYNT

WYRO

WZWB

class=notpageimage|

Map of network stations in Ohio and West Virginia

References[]

^ Ohio State Buckeyes football (September 13, 2014). "Gameday Program - Kent State: Ohio State Sports Radio Network" (PDF). OhioStateBuckeyes.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014. All Ohio State football games are broadcast by the Ohio State IMG Sports Network with WBNS Radio serving as the flagship station...
^ Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball (2014). "2014-15 Men's Basketball Team Guide: Media Information" (PDF). OhioStateBuckeyes.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014. All Ohio State men's basketball games are broadcast by the Ohio State IMG Sports Network.
^ Finnan, Bob (September 24, 2013). "Cleveland Indians announcer Tom Hamilton recovering from knee surgery, will return Friday". MorningJournal.com. The Morning Journal. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014. WKNR-850 AM and KNR2-1540 AM have signed a multiyear agreement with the Ohio State IMG Radio Network. ... '... we are very happy ESPN Cleveland will continue as the home for Buckeyes' football and basketball,' Ohio State IMG Sports Marketing general manager Ray DeWeese said in a statement.
^ Kiesewetter, John (December 8, 2009). "Paul Keels Joins Reds TV Team". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2014. Fans may recognize him as the play by play voice for Ohio State football and basketball on WBNS Radio in Columbus, where he has been since 1998.
^ Livingston, Bill (November 29, 2013). "Ohio State's Ryan Shazier displays the fierce qualities of college football's greatest rivalry, plus stunning speed". The Plain Dealer via Cleveland.com. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2014. Said Jim Lachey, the Ohio State radio network analyst...
^ Blade staff (April 4, 2010). "10 questions with Ron Stokes". ToledoBlade.com. The Toledo Blade. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014. ... and for the last 13 seasons the Canton native has been the expert analyst on the radio broadcasts of Ohio State basketball working with play-by-play announcer Paul Keels.
^ Price, Rita (March 30, 2009). "College athletics: OSU getting richest multimedia contract". The Columbus Dispatch via Dispatch.com. The Dispatch Printing Co. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014. The Buckeyes' athletics program is the nation's biggest, and so is its deal: IMG College and RadiOhio will pay OSU $110 million over the next 10 years in the largest multimedia-rights guarantee in collegiate sports. ... RadiOhio is a member of the Dispatch Broadcast Group, which includes the Ohio State Radio Sports Network, WBNS-AM and WBNS-FM...
^ Pramik, Mike (March 31, 2009). "OSU athletics deal is future-focused; Marketing pact won't fix this year's shortfall, officials say". The Columbus Dispatch. Dispatch Printing Co. p. 10C - Business. Once money starts flowing from the university's $110 million deal with IMG College and RadiOhio, the athletic department will be better positioned to weather the economic downturn, OSU athletics director Gene Smith said. ... 'At the time we started the process five months ago, we were not in the position to know we'd have the $1.2 million (deficit),' Smith said.
^ "Readers say Price was player of the week". Chillicothe Gazette. ChillicotheGazette.com. September 19, 2014. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014. Hosley was honored Monday by the Ohio State Radio Network and WBNS-FM (97.1) during the Buckeye Roundtable show in Chillicothe.
^ Gerdeman, Tony (October 16, 2014). "Updates from the Oct. 16 Urban Meyer Call-In Show". TheOZone.net. O-Zone Communications, Inc. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014. Urban Meyer sat down for his weekly one-hour call-in show on the Ohio State IMG Sports Network Thursday.

External links[]

[1] Ohio State Buckeyes football (September 13, 2014). "Gameday Program - Kent State: Ohio State Sports Radio Network" (PDF). OhioStateBuckeyes.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014. All Ohio State football games are broadcast by the Ohio State IMG Sports Network with WBNS Radio serving as the flagship station...

[2] Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball (2014). "2014-15 Men's Basketball Team Guide: Media Information" (PDF). OhioStateBuckeyes.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014. All Ohio State men's basketball games are broadcast by the Ohio State IMG Sports Network.

[3] Finnan, Bob (September 24, 2013). "Cleveland Indians announcer Tom Hamilton recovering from knee surgery, will return Friday". MorningJournal.com. The Morning Journal. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014. WKNR-850 AM and KNR2-1540 AM have signed a multiyear agreement with the Ohio State IMG Radio Network. ... '... we are very happy ESPN Cleveland will continue as the home for Buckeyes' football and basketball,' Ohio State IMG Sports Marketing general manager Ray DeWeese said in a statement.

[4] Kiesewetter, John (December 8, 2009). "Paul Keels Joins Reds TV Team". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2014. Fans may recognize him as the play by play voice for Ohio State football and basketball on WBNS Radio in Columbus, where he has been since 1998.

[5] Livingston, Bill (November 29, 2013). "Ohio State's Ryan Shazier displays the fierce qualities of college football's greatest rivalry, plus stunning speed". The Plain Dealer via Cleveland.com. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2014. Said Jim Lachey, the Ohio State radio network analyst...

[6] Blade staff (April 4, 2010). "10 questions with Ron Stokes". ToledoBlade.com. The Toledo Blade. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014. ... and for the last 13 seasons the Canton native has been the expert analyst on the radio broadcasts of Ohio State basketball working with play-by-play announcer Paul Keels.

[7] Price, Rita (March 30, 2009). "College athletics: OSU getting richest multimedia contract". The Columbus Dispatch via Dispatch.com. The Dispatch Printing Co. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014. The Buckeyes' athletics program is the nation's biggest, and so is its deal: IMG College and RadiOhio will pay OSU $110 million over the next 10 years in the largest multimedia-rights guarantee in collegiate sports. ... RadiOhio is a member of the Dispatch Broadcast Group, which includes the Ohio State Radio Sports Network, WBNS-AM and WBNS-FM...

[8] Pramik, Mike (March 31, 2009). "OSU athletics deal is future-focused; Marketing pact won't fix this year's shortfall, officials say". The Columbus Dispatch. Dispatch Printing Co. p. 10C - Business. Once money starts flowing from the university's $110 million deal with IMG College and RadiOhio, the athletic department will be better positioned to weather the economic downturn, OSU athletics director Gene Smith said. ... 'At the time we started the process five months ago, we were not in the position to know we'd have the $1.2 million (deficit),' Smith said.

[9] "Readers say Price was player of the week". Chillicothe Gazette. ChillicotheGazette.com. September 19, 2014. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014. Hosley was honored Monday by the Ohio State Radio Network and WBNS-FM (97.1) during the Buckeye Roundtable show in Chillicothe.

[10] Gerdeman, Tony (October 16, 2014). "Updates from the Oct. 16 Urban Meyer Call-In Show". TheOZone.net. O-Zone Communications, Inc. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014. Urban Meyer sat down for his weekly one-hour call-in show on the Ohio State IMG Sports Network Thursday.

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v t Ohio State Buckeyes football
Venues	Recreation Park (1890–1897) Ohio Field (1898–1921) Ohio Stadium (1922–present) Woody Hayes Athletic Center (practice)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Illinois (Illibuck) Michigan (The Ten Year War) Penn State
Culture & lore	History Block O Brutus Buckeye "Across the Field" "Buckeye Battle Cry" "Carmen Ohio" "Hang On Sloopy" Marching band Neutron Man The Ten Year War Snow Bowl (1950) 1969 Michigan game 1973 Michigan game The Kick Holy Buckeye 2005 Texas game 2006 Michigan game 2016 Penn State game
Media	WBNS-TV WBNS WBNS-FM Ohio State Sports Network
People	Head coaches All-Century Team NFL draftees Statistical leaders Retired numbers
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
National championship seasons in bold

v t Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball
Venues	(1897–1918) Ohio Expo Center Coliseum (1918–1956) St. John Arena (1956–1998) Value City Arena (1998–present)
Rivalries	Michigan
Culture & lore	Brutus Buckeye Buckeye Nuthouse WBNS WBNS-FM Ohio State Sports Network
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1967–68 1969–70 1970–71 1986–87 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1998–99 1999–2000 2002–03 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics