UTC sports switch to 105.1 FM radio

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sports have a new home on the radio.

In the 2009-10 school year, UTC's football and men's and women's basketball games will be broadcast on WTZO-FM 105.1, UTC announced Monday. The five-year deal between Mocs Sports Properties, which controls the multimedia rights to UTC athletics, and the Brewer Media Group-owned station will also include the football and basketball coaches' shows, as well as a daily update called Mocs Sports Today.

The new deal will put the Mocs' three game broadcasts on one station. Previously, the football and men's basketball broadcasts were on WGOW-FM 102.3 and the Lady Mocs' games, along with the football coach's show, were on WDEF-AM 1370.

"(Changing) was something that had been on our radar for a while, in terms of wanting to assess our multimedia properties," UTC athletic director Rick Hart said.

Mocs Sports Properties, part of the Learfield Sports marketing group, shopped the deal around for several months before an agreement was reached, Hart said. Among Learfield Sports' other many partners are the University of Alabama, Mississippi State, North Carolina and Oklahoma.

"This is an area where they have a great deal of expertise," Hart said of Learfield's handling of the negotiations.

Earlier this month, WALV-FM 104.9 changed to WTZO 105.1, "The Zone" -- one of two local Brewer Media Group stations to change formats from music to talk. It also is the new local home of ESPN Radio, which had been at 1370.

Jim Brewer II, president of Brewer Media Group, said the deal was an important one for the station as it gets its footing in the local sports market.

"We wanted to be that flagship station (for UTC), and we were very aggressive in negotiating for it," Brewer said.

Though the stations have changed, the play-by-play voices have not, Hart said. Jim Reynolds will continue to call the Mocs' football and men's basketball games and Larry Ward will return as the voice of the Lady Mocs.