The University of Texas will move its sports play-by-play to iHeartMedia’s Austin cluster.
Sports “1300 The Zone” KVET and Country 98.1 KVET-FM will carry University of Texas football and men’s basketball. Stations to carry women’s basketball, baseball, and softball and Spanish language football coverage will be announced later.
The announcement notes that Craig Way will continue as play-by-play voice for Longhorns sports for his upcoming 23rd season.
KVET previously carried UT sports until their move to Genuine Austin Radio’s “104.9 The Horn” KTXX Bee Cave in 2016. That station announced yesterday it will drop its Sports format on August 1.
University of Texas Athletics and LEARFIELD/Longhorn Sports Properties announced today that iHeartMedia Austin will become the new radio home for the Texas Longhorns.
The multi-year partnership will bring fans across greater Austin live game day broadcasts for Longhorns football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, and softball, as well as coaches’ shows and other programming.
iHeartMedia’s KVET-AM 1300 The Zone will become the flagship station, with Longhorns football and men’s basketball programming simulcast on KVET-FM 98.1. Broadcast stations for other sports will be announced at a later date, including Spanish-language broadcasts for football game days.
LEARFIELD’s Longhorn Sports Properties, which manages the Longhorn Radio Network and Texas Athletics’ multimedia rights, negotiated the partnership.
“The move of our network’s flagship radio station to KVET is a huge win for our fans in Austin and central Texas,” said Chris Del Conte, Vice President and Director of Athletics at The University of Texas. “The powerful signals of AM 1300 The Zone and 98.1 KVET will give our Longhorn faithful access to crystal clear radio game broadcasts from the northern tips of Williamson County down to the southern regions of Caldwell and Hays counties and out east to our friends in Bastrop and west into the beautiful Hill Country. 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.”
In addition to its flagship programming, iHeartMedia and its Austin stations – 98.1 KVET (KVET-FM); AM 1300 The Zone (KVET-AM); 103.1 Austin (K276EL/KVETHD2); 96.7 KISS FM (KHFI-FM); 102.3 The Beat (KPEZ-FM); KASE 101 (KASE-FM); Alt 97.5 (K248CU/KASEHD2) – will receive promotional exposure at Texas Athletics events and more, including on-site broadcasts from the famed BEVO Blvd on football game days.
“Texas Longhorns is one of the leading college sports brands in the country, with Longhorn Nation continuing to be recognized for their pride and dedication to their home team,” said Kevin LeGrett, President of iHeartMedia Sports. “We are excited to be the broadcast home to these passionate sports fans, providing great programming and play-by-play coverage not only in Austin, but everywhere via iHeartRadio.”
The Longhorn Radio Network broadcasts football and men’s basketball game days, as well as coaches’ shows statewide on more than 30 affiliates. Additionally, broadcasts are available on SiriusXM satellite radio and streamed live worldwide on TexasSports.com and the Texas Athletics mobile app, as well as the iHeartRadio app. Fans can find the complete list of listening options on TexasSports.com/radio.
Craig Way, entering his 23rd year as the ‘The Voice of the Longhorns’, will continue his play-by-play role on game days, alongside familiar personalities and analysts. Longhorns Football kicks off their 2023 season vs. Rice on September 2 at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
