BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo Division of Athletics announced today a two-year agreement with WECK (1230 AM) and WLVL (1340 AM) to air Bulls' athletic events, including Buffalo's football and men's and women's basketball programs and select other UB events. The deal places all of UB's sports on the same family of locally-owned stations for the first time in its Division I-A era (1999-present).
“We are delighted to be working with a pair of stations that are extremely focused on the great things happening in Western New York and who are excited to engage in a partnership that will be beneficial to both parties,” said Director of Athletics Warde Manuel. “From the beginning of our discussions with WECK and WLVL it was clear that they had a real desire to be our flagship stations, and I am confident that they will give us the kind of coverage that our fans and alumni will appreciate."
WECK (1230 AM) is one of Buffalo's oldest and most recognized stations and has recently changed formats to a news and sports talk lineup that features many familiar voices to Buffalo radio, including sports show host Brad Riter. Riter will anchor call-in shows featuring UB coaches Turner Gill and Reggie Witherspoon during their respective seasons while other Bulls' coaches and student-athletes will be regulars as well. All UB games will be webstreamed for free on WECK and WLVL's online sites in addition to the Bulls' home at www.buffalobulls.com.
The Buffalo women's basketball program will again make sister station, WLVL (1340 AM) its home but will also see a minimum of five games aired on WECK as well. Those games as well as play-by-play and analyst teams for UB's programs will be announced at a later date.
“From the moment we first thought of adding the Erie County coverage of WECK to the Niagara County coverage of WLVL, we wanted to pursue UB Athletics for our programming lineups,” said WECK Operations Manager Tom Schuh. “We are extremely proud to now be the flagship stations for UB football and basketball. These Division 1-A programs are already major players in the Buffalo sports market, and we look forward to contributing to their continued growth and exposure to Western New York’s passionate sports fans.”