PEORIA, Ill. – The longest-running radio partnership in college basketball will continue for at least four more years. Bradley Sports Properties, the multimedia rights holder for Bradley Athletics, and Alpha Media have reached an agreement that will keep Bradley Basketball on 1470 WMBD through the 2018-19 season.
In addition to the men’s basketball radio broadcasts, Bradley women’s basketball games will continue to be broadcast on 1290 WIRL for the next four years. Both stations also are available on the FM dial – 1470 WMBD on 100.3 and 1290 WIRL on 102.7 – and their programming is available live on the internet through their respective home pages.
“We’re very proud of that distinction, to be part of the longest-running relationship between a school and its radio partner,” said Mike Wild, Alpha Media Senior Vice President and Market Manager. “Looking ahead, we’re inspired by the vision for Bradley Athletics under Chris Reynolds and the basketball programs under Brian Wardle and Michael Brooks. We’re honored to play a part in Bradley’s new future.”
Bradley Basketball was first broadcast on radio when the legendary Jack Brickhouse called the action on 1470 WMBD for Bradley’s 53-30 win against Yale Dec. 30, 1938 at the Peoria Armory. Although Bradley games often were broadcast by multiple stations throughout the years, 1470 WMBD has remained the program’s consistent radio partner the last 75 seasons, making the relationship the longest concurrent radio partnership in college basketball.
Long-time “Voice of the Braves” Dave Snell, Bradley’s assistant director of athletic communications, will begin his 37th year as Bradley Basketball’s play-by-play announcer on 1470 WMBD and he once again will be joined on the broadcasts by former Brave Chad Kleine, while Dan DiOrio will continue to host the Braves Plus pregame show. Ed Hammond, 1470 WMBD afternoon news anchor, will begin his 14th season calling Bradley Women’s Basketball play-by-play action.
In addition to Bradley men’s and women’s basketball game coverage in the radio agreement, 1470 WMBD will continue airing the “Voice of the Braves” hour-long radio show with at least 10 shows to air during the basketball season. Last year’s “Voice of the Braves” show, which was broadcast live from a remote location, included interviews with head coaches, student-athletes, staff and local celebrities.
Bradley University is one of more than 100 collegiate properties represented by Learfield Sports, which manages athletic multimedia rights and sponsorship. In its four decades, Learfield has developed trusted, long-term relationships with some of the most revered institutions and associations in the world of college athletics. The company also titles the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup with award co-founders NACDA and USA Today. For more information about its history, collegiate portfolio and job opportunities, visit www.learfieldsports.com.