WTKA
Encyclopedia
WTKA is a radio station
located in Ann Arbor, Michigan
, that broadcasts on 1050 AM. Day power is 10 kW, night power is 500 W. The station covers most of southeast Michigan.
First on-air as WPAG in 1945, the station was the first licensed to Washtenaw County
, with studios on the third floor of the Hutzel Building, at the corner of Main at Liberty Streets in Ann Arbor. (Currently, a digital service called A3 Radio netcasts from the old WPAG studios.) Owned by brothers Paul and Art Greene, the call letters WPAG were selected to reflect their names. (For many years there was a ladies lingerie and apparel store down on the Hutzel Building's first floor, which caused long-time University of Michigan
football
broadcaster Bob Ufer
to joke that WPAG really stood for "Women's Panties And Girdles".) WPAG also briefly operated a television outlet, WPAG-TV
on channel 20 in the 1950s.
Meanwhile, the radio station went through a series of formats. WPAG played Top 40 music for much of the 1960s, then transitioned to a full-service format featuring MOR music in 1968. By 1982, WPAG was an adult standards
station, then changed to country music
a short time later.
In December 1987, WTKA was purchased by Tom Monaghan
and had its calls changed to WPZA -- a nod to Monaghan's thriving Domino's Pizza
business. In late 1992, Monaghan (who now owns Ave Maria Radio, including Ypsilanti's WDEO
), sold WPZA to the MW Blue Partnership; eventually, it went to Cumulus Broadcasting and then to Clear Channel Communications
, who flipped the station to all-sports WTKA ("The Ticket").
WTKA is now owned by Cumulus Broadcasting due in part to a multi-station swap between Cumulus and Clear Channel that involved stations in Michigan And Ohio.
Today, WTKA bills itself as "Sports Talk 1050 AM", the unofficial voice of the University of Michigan
sports. Sports Talk 1050 AM carries U-M football
, basketball
and hockey
as well as Detroit Tigers
baseball games (a holdover from the WPZA era, as Monaghan also owned the Tigers at that time.
Go Blue Wolverine magazine editor Sam Webb and Ira Weintraub host "The Michigan Insider" weekday mornings from 6-10am. The show features many prominent guests, including sports writer John Bacon, ESPN The Magazine contributor Eric Adelson, and frequent interviews with University of Michigan coaches Brady Hoke, John Beilein, Carol Hutchins, Rich Maloney and more. One of the most popular features on "The Michigan Insider" is "Recruiting Roundup" with the latest information on Michigan football and basketball recruiting. The segment is recorded and available at any time on the station's website.
Webb also appears Sunday mornings from 9-10am on "The GoBlueWolverine Hour". The 10am-12noon spot is then filled by author John U. Bacon and Jamie Morris
. Morris is a former University of Michigan tailback. He played under legendary coach Bo Schembechler in the 1980s, becoming Michigan's all-time leading rusher in the process. Now, he ranks third on the all-time list.
During the 2011-2012 Michigan Hockey Season, Ira Weintraub and John U. Bacon host "The Red Berenson Show" with legendary Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson and other Michigan hockey coaches and Michigan hockey players. The show airs Tuesday nights at 6pm during the season from the Pizza House restaurant in Ann Arbor.
Mondays at 6pm Ira Weintraub hosts the Eagle Nation Insider, focusing on Eastern Michigan University
athletics with guests like head football coach Ron English
and women's basketball coach AnnMarie Gilbert. The show is rebroadcast Wednesday afternoon at 3pm.
Ben Copeland provides weekday traffic and sports reports in the afternoons, and occasionly sits in on "The Michigan Insider". On weekday afternoons, the station features ESPN Radio programming The Herd with Colin Cowherd from 10am-1pm, and The Scott VanPelt Show from 1-3pm.
Ann Arbor's Big Show runs weekdays from 3-6pm. The host of the show rotates throughout the week between Jeff Radford (Mondays and Tuesdays) Jeff DeFran (Wednesdays and Thursdays), and Jim Stark and Al Fellhauer (Fridays). The host is joined by Mark Copeland each day. The first hour of The Big Show is called the recap and features interviews from earlier in the day as well as replaying the popular morning show segment Recruiting Roundup with Sam Webb. The Big Show is live from 4-6pm.
WTKA airs two hours of a delayed version of The Huge Show with host Bill Simonson from 6-8pm. The station also airs a delayed version of the Dan Patrick Show from 8-11pm. The Huge Show and Dan Patrick Show are often preempted by live broadcasts of Detroit Tigers baseball and University Of Michigan basketball and hockey.
On April 23, 2007 WTKA fired former University of Michigan
hockey player Dave Shand from the station. Shand served as the co-host for the morning show titled "In the Locker Room with Dave Shand." The station gave no reason for the firing. Shand claims University of Michigan athletic director Bill Martin
pressured the station to fire him, but a lawsuit against Martin on this claim was dismissed for lack of evidence.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
located in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
, that broadcasts on 1050 AM. Day power is 10 kW, night power is 500 W. The station covers most of southeast Michigan.
First on-air as WPAG in 1945, the station was the first licensed to Washtenaw County
Washtenaw County, Michigan
Washtenaw County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 344,791. Its county seat is Ann Arbor. The United States Office of Management and Budget defines the county as part of the Detroit–Warren–Flint Combined Statistical Area...
, with studios on the third floor of the Hutzel Building, at the corner of Main at Liberty Streets in Ann Arbor. (Currently, a digital service called A3 Radio netcasts from the old WPAG studios.) Owned by brothers Paul and Art Greene, the call letters WPAG were selected to reflect their names. (For many years there was a ladies lingerie and apparel store down on the Hutzel Building's first floor, which caused long-time University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
broadcaster Bob Ufer
Bob Ufer
Bob Ufer was the lead broadcaster for the Michigan Wolverines football team for 37 years, starting in 1944. He has been inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor.-Early years:...
to joke that WPAG really stood for "Women's Panties And Girdles".) WPAG also briefly operated a television outlet, WPAG-TV
WPAG-TV
WPAG-TV was a television station in Ann Arbor, Michigan assigned to Channel 20 from 1953-1957.WPAG, Washtenaw County's first TV station, first signed on in April 1953; it was also one of the first UHF stations in Michigan, with Saginaw's WKNX-TV signing on the same month.WPAG-TV was owned by the...
on channel 20 in the 1950s.
Meanwhile, the radio station went through a series of formats. WPAG played Top 40 music for much of the 1960s, then transitioned to a full-service format featuring MOR music in 1968. By 1982, WPAG was an adult standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
station, then changed to country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
a short time later.
In December 1987, WTKA was purchased by Tom Monaghan
Tom Monaghan
Thomas Stephen "Tom" Monaghan is an entrepreneur and Catholic philanthropist and activist who founded Domino's Pizza in 1960. He owned the Detroit Tigers from 1983-1992....
and had its calls changed to WPZA -- a nod to Monaghan's thriving Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza, Inc. is an international pizza delivery corporation headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America. Founded in 1960, Domino's is the second-largest pizza chain in the United States and has over 9,000 corporate and franchised stores in 60 countries and all 50 U.S....
business. In late 1992, Monaghan (who now owns Ave Maria Radio, including Ypsilanti's WDEO
WDEO (AM)
WDEO is a radio station broadcasting on 990 kilohertz in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Broadcasting Catholic programming, WDEO is operated by Ave Maria Radio....
), sold WPZA to the MW Blue Partnership; eventually, it went to Cumulus Broadcasting and then to Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
, who flipped the station to all-sports WTKA ("The Ticket").
WTKA is now owned by Cumulus Broadcasting due in part to a multi-station swap between Cumulus and Clear Channel that involved stations in Michigan And Ohio.
Today, WTKA bills itself as "Sports Talk 1050 AM", the unofficial voice of the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
sports. Sports Talk 1050 AM carries U-M football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
as well as Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
baseball games (a holdover from the WPZA era, as Monaghan also owned the Tigers at that time.
Go Blue Wolverine magazine editor Sam Webb and Ira Weintraub host "The Michigan Insider" weekday mornings from 6-10am. The show features many prominent guests, including sports writer John Bacon, ESPN The Magazine contributor Eric Adelson, and frequent interviews with University of Michigan coaches Brady Hoke, John Beilein, Carol Hutchins, Rich Maloney and more. One of the most popular features on "The Michigan Insider" is "Recruiting Roundup" with the latest information on Michigan football and basketball recruiting. The segment is recorded and available at any time on the station's website.
Webb also appears Sunday mornings from 9-10am on "The GoBlueWolverine Hour". The 10am-12noon spot is then filled by author John U. Bacon and Jamie Morris
Jamie Morris
James Walter "Jamie" Morris is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and a record-setting running back in college for the University of Michigan Wolverines...
. Morris is a former University of Michigan tailback. He played under legendary coach Bo Schembechler in the 1980s, becoming Michigan's all-time leading rusher in the process. Now, he ranks third on the all-time list.
During the 2011-2012 Michigan Hockey Season, Ira Weintraub and John U. Bacon host "The Red Berenson Show" with legendary Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson and other Michigan hockey coaches and Michigan hockey players. The show airs Tuesday nights at 6pm during the season from the Pizza House restaurant in Ann Arbor.
Mondays at 6pm Ira Weintraub hosts the Eagle Nation Insider, focusing on Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...
athletics with guests like head football coach Ron English
Ron English (American football)
-External links:**...
and women's basketball coach AnnMarie Gilbert. The show is rebroadcast Wednesday afternoon at 3pm.
Ben Copeland provides weekday traffic and sports reports in the afternoons, and occasionly sits in on "The Michigan Insider". On weekday afternoons, the station features ESPN Radio programming The Herd with Colin Cowherd from 10am-1pm, and The Scott VanPelt Show from 1-3pm.
Ann Arbor's Big Show runs weekdays from 3-6pm. The host of the show rotates throughout the week between Jeff Radford (Mondays and Tuesdays) Jeff DeFran (Wednesdays and Thursdays), and Jim Stark and Al Fellhauer (Fridays). The host is joined by Mark Copeland each day. The first hour of The Big Show is called the recap and features interviews from earlier in the day as well as replaying the popular morning show segment Recruiting Roundup with Sam Webb. The Big Show is live from 4-6pm.
WTKA airs two hours of a delayed version of The Huge Show with host Bill Simonson from 6-8pm. The station also airs a delayed version of the Dan Patrick Show from 8-11pm. The Huge Show and Dan Patrick Show are often preempted by live broadcasts of Detroit Tigers baseball and University Of Michigan basketball and hockey.
On April 23, 2007 WTKA fired former University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
hockey player Dave Shand from the station. Shand served as the co-host for the morning show titled "In the Locker Room with Dave Shand." The station gave no reason for the firing. Shand claims University of Michigan athletic director Bill Martin
Bill Martin
Bill Martin is a Scottish songwriter, music publisher and impresario.-Biography:...
pressured the station to fire him, but a lawsuit against Martin on this claim was dismissed for lack of evidence.
Sources
- Michiguide.com - WTKA History
- Former Michigan QB Leach Rips Carr
- Audio of Rick Leach's criticism of Lloyd Carr from WTKA