The Fighting Illini Sports Network (also known as the Busey Bank Illini Sports Network for sponsorship reasons) is a group of radio stations in Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa that broadcast Illinois Fighting Illini athletic events. The network is managed by Fighting Illini Sports Properties, a Learfield company, whose offices are located in Champaign, Illinois. [1] [2]
Station | Frequency | City | Format | Sports carried | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
WRMJ | FM 102.3 | Aledo, IL | Country | football, men's basketball | |
WBGZ | AM 1570 FM 94.3 FM 107.1 | Alton, IL | Talk radio | football, men's basketball | Serves Northern St. Louis & Metro-East area |
WIBH | AM 1440 FM 102.5 | Anna, IL | Classic Country | football, men's basketball | |
WWHX | FM 100.7 | Bloomington, IL | Adult Contemporary | football, men's basketball | Serves Bloomington-Normal area |
WCAZ | AM 1510 FM 99.1 | Carthage, IL | Country | football, men's basketball | |
WDWS | AM 1400 FM 93.9 | Champaign, IL | Talk radio | football, men's basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, women's basketball | Owned by Community Media Group |
WHMS | FM 97.5 | Champaign, IL | Adult Contemporary | football, men's basketball | Owned by Community Media Group |
WLS | AM 890 | Chicago, IL | Talk radio | football, men's basketball | 2020-21 was first year of a multi-year agreement. |
WDAN | AM 1490 | Danville, IL | Talk radio | football, men's basketball | |
WDNL | FM 102.1 | Danville, IL | Adult Contemporary | football, men's basketball | |
WFXN | AM 1230 | Davenport, IA | Sports | football, men's basketball | Serves Quad Cities area |
WSOY | AM 1340 | Decatur, IL | Talk radio | football, men's basketball | |
WJEZ | FM 98.9 | Dwight, IL | Classic Hits | football, men's basketball | |
WHQQ | FM 98.9 | Effingham, IL | Sports | football, men's basketball | |
WFIW | AM 1390 | Fairfield, Illinois | Talk Radio / Sports | football, men's basketball | |
WGIL | AM 1400 FM 93.7 | Galesburg, Illinois | Talk Radio / Sports | football, men's basketball | |
WPMB | FM 102.7 | Greenville, Illinois | Adult Contemporary | football, men's basketball | |
WJIL | AM 1550 FM 97.1 | Jacksonville, Illinois | Talk radio | football, men's basketball | |
WJVO | FM 102.9 | Jacksonville, Illinois | Country | football, men's basketball | |
WJBM | AM 1480 FM 104.7 | Jerseyville, Illinois | Country | football, men's basketball | |
WAOX | FM 105.3 | Litchfield, Illinois | Adult contemporary | football, men's basketball | |
WGGH | AM 1150 FM 98.1 | Marion, Illinois | Talk radio | football, men's basketball | |
WMMC | FM 105.9 | Marshall, Illinois | Classic hits | football, men's basketball | |
WSJD | FM 100.5 | Mt. Carmel, Illinois | Oldies | football, men's basketball | |
WINI | AM 1420 FM 93.5 | Murphysboro, Illinois | Oldies | football, men's basketball | |
WPXN | FM 104.9 | Paxton, Illinois | Adult contemporary | football, men's basketball | |
WZPN | FM 101.1 | Peoria, Illinois | Sports | football, men's basketball | |
WTAD | AM 930 FM 103.3 | Quincy, Illinois | Talk Radio | football, men's basketball | |
WTAY | AM 1570 FM 94.3 | Robinson, Illinois | News/Talk/Sports/Classic Hits | football, men's basketball | |
WTYE | FM 101.7 | Robinson, Illinois | Classic hits | football | |
WROK | AM 1440 FM 96.1 | Rockford, Illinois | News/talk | football, men's basketball | |
WKXQ | FM 92.5 | Rushville, Illinois | Adult standards | football, men's basketball | |
WJBD | FM 100.1 | Salem, Illinois | Sports | football, men's basketball | |
WHCO | AM 1230 FM 97.3 | Sparta, Illinois | Country | football, men's basketball | |
WCVS | FM 96.7 | Springfield, Illinois | Adult hits | football, men's basketball | |
WFMB | AM 1450 | Springfield, Illinois | Sports | football, men's basketball | |
KFNS | AM 590 | St. Louis, Missouri | Sports | football, men's basketball | |
WMKR | FM 94.3-2 FM 104.7 | Taylorville/Tower Hill/Shelbyville, Illinois | Country | football, men's basketball | |
WPMB | AM 1500 FM 102.7 FM 104.7 | Vandalia, Illinois | Adult Contemporary | football, men's basketball | |
WGFA | FM 94.1 | Watseka, Illinois | Adult Contemporary | football, men's basketball |
Stephen Dean Bardo is an American retired professional basketball player who played 3 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently a college basketball analyst.
Deon La velle Thomas is an American-Israeli former basketball player. As a high school player, he led his team to the Chicago Public League title, and was named Illinois Mr. Basketball. As a college player at the University of Illinois, he finished his career as the all-time leading scorer in Fighting Illini history. Selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the 28th selection of the 1994 NBA draft, he opted to play professional basketball in Europe and Israel.
Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news, analysis programs, and other content focusing on the conference's member schools. It is a joint venture between Fox Sports and the Big Ten, with Fox Corporation as 61% stakeholder and operating partner, and the Big Ten Conference owning a 39% stake. It is headquartered in the former Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalog House building at 600 West Chicago Avenue in Chicago.
Learfield is a collegiate sports marketing company, representing more than 200 of the nation's top collegiate properties including the NCAA and its 89 championships, NCAA Football, leading conferences, and many of the most prestigious colleges and universities in the country. The company was previously known as Learfield IMG College before rebranding in 2021 to Learfield. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, Learfield employs more than 2,200 people in nearly 100 offices throughout the United States. The company was created in 2018 through the combination of Endeavor's IMG College division and Learfield Communications of Missouri, managed by the Atairos Group.
Black Bear Sports Network is the radio and television name for University of Maine sports. The radio affiliates broadcast football, men's and women's basketball, men's ice hockey and select baseball and softball games. The current network formed in the summer of 2007 when Learfield Sports took over the marketing for the Maine Black Bears. Previous to this the radio network was known as The Sports Zone Black Bear Network and was heard on Bangor, Maine ESPN Radio affiliate WZON, at times including WLOB and WEGP.
The Tar Heel Sports Network is a radio network in the United States dedicated to broadcasting live events and programming relating to North Carolina Tar Heels athletics. It is operated by Tar Heel Sports Properties, a property of LEARFIELD, which manages the multimedia rights for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The network's flagship station is WPTF in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The UK Sports Network, historically known as the Big Blue Sports Network (BBSN) and also formerly known as the UK IMG Sports Network, is the radio and television network of the University of Kentucky Wildcats men's and women's sports teams. It consists of five over-the-air television affiliates and 44 radio stations in Kentucky and neighboring states.
Boston College Eagles radio networks are American broadcast radio networks heard in the 6 New England states on 15 stations. The current sports teams that have radio networks are the men's basketball, hockey and football teams. The network is produced through Learfield. The football play-by-play announcer is Jon Meterparel and the analyst is Peter Cronan. The basketball play-by-play announcer is Josh Maurer and the analyst is Danya Abrams. The main baseball play-by-play announcer is Joe Weil and the analyst is Kevin Collins.
The Appalachian Sports Network is a group of 17 radio stations that carry Appalachian State University sports. The flagship station is WKBC-FM 97.3 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The network had previously been known as the Appalachian ISP Sports Network; when ISP Sports was bought by IMG Worldwide subsidiary, IMG College, in 2010, the network became the Appalachian IMG Sports Network. The IMG was dropped when IMG and Learfield Sports merged to form Learfield IMG College in 2018.
The 1954–55 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois.
The 1955–56 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illinois.
The 1956–57 Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team represented the University of Illiniois.
The Vol Network is the radio and television network of the University of Tennessee Volunteers men's and women's sports teams known as the Vols and Lady Vols. Established in 1949 and since 2019, it has been operated by Learfield IMG College.
The Ohio State Sports Network from Learfield is an American radio network consisting of 62 radio stations which carry coverage of Ohio State Buckeyes football and men's basketball. Co-owned WBNS and WBNS-FM, both licensed to Columbus, Ohio, serve as the network's 2 flagship stations. The network also includes 60 affiliates in the U.S. states of Ohio and West Virginia: 33 AM stations, 22 of which extend their signals with low-power FM translators; 26 full-power FM stations; and one HD Radio digital subchannel which supplements its signal with a low-power FM translator. 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.
The Crimson Tide Sports Network is the radio and television network of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide men's and women's sports teams. It consists of four television stations, two regional cable networks, and several radio stations throughout the state of Alabama, some of which serves small parts of surrounding states. This organization's headquarters are located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The Blue Raider Network is the sports radio network for the Middle Tennessee State University Athletic teams, the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. It broadcasts men's and women's basketball, as well as football and baseball games. The events are broadcast over six radio stations, and a few of the station's translators.
The U of L Sports Network is the radio network of the University of Louisville Cardinals. It consists of fifteen (15) radio stations in primarily located in Kentucky, but the network serves much of Kentucky and southern Indiana.
The Illinois–Indiana rivalry is a college sports rivalry between the University of Illinois Fighting Illini and the Indiana University Hoosiers. The rivalry between these bordering-state schools dates back to 1899 when the Indiana Hoosiers joined the Big Ten Conference of which Illinois is a founding member. The rivalry is most prominent in men's basketball, where both teams are perennial "Final Four contenders" and combined have won several conference championships. In football, the rivalry is less intense, but notable for the two school's geographic proximity, the history and longevity of the series with 73 total meetings dating back to 1899 and their status as a previously "protected rivalry" in the Big Ten.
The Longhorn Radio Network is a radio network in the United States that is dedicated to broadcasting live events and programming of the Texas Longhorns football, basketball, baseball, and softball teams. Owned by Learfield IMG College and the University of Texas at Austin via a joint venture, the network consists of 36 affiliates covering 90% of the state of Texas. The network provides broadcasts in the English language for most affiliates, with some affiliates providing broadcasts in Spanish for the benefit of Hispanic listeners.
The LSU Sports Network is the radio and television network of the Louisiana State University Tigers and Lady Tigers men's and women's sports teams. It consists of eleven television stations, two regional cable networks, and several radio stations throughout the state of Louisiana and surrounding states. Its headquarters are located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and it is owned by LSU Sports Properties.