Friars on the move
Switch from WEEI to WPRO airwaves begins this season
The Providence College men’s basketball team will have its radio broadcasts slide down the FM dial.
PROVIDENCE – Sure, having your college basketball games carried on a radio station as well-known as WEEI is a tremendous asset.
Then you realize that over time the listenership is more concerned about Tom Brady’s absence from much of the Patriots’ offseason workouts than with what Providence head coach Ed Cooley has up his sleeve against Villanova. Sad but true, college sports do not produce good talk show fodder in the Boston market.
With PC’s radio contract to air basketball games and Cooley’s coach’s show on WEEI 103.7 FM expiring, the school has elected to make a change in stations. For Friar fans of a certain age, this move has an old-school vibe attached to it.
Starting with next season, PC games will be available on WPRO AM (630) and the station’s FM signal (99.7). On Monday, Providence and its multimedia rights-holder Learfield announced a five-year agreement with Cumulus Media, Inc., WPRO’s parent company. The longtime Friar radio duo of John Rooke and Joe Hassett will continue their run of describing the on-court action, a partnership that’s endured for the past three decades.
WEEI had been the home of Providence basketball for the past 15 seasons. Prior to that, the games were on WPRO’s AM signal, a tradition that dates back to the 1950s when Chris Clark was the lifeline to the radio audience.
The decision to switch from WEEI to WPRO is layered in a few key areas.
“WEEI was a great partner and we were also in negotiations with them, but it was more about the branding and the promotions,” PC athletic director Bob Driscoll said when reached Monday.
To that end, Driscoll cited WPRO’s weeknight sports talk show that’s hosted by Andy Gresh. Any Friar fan who wished to talk about their favorite Big East team on WEEI would probably have a hard time clearing the call-screening process, considering that day’s agenda usually centers around the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, and Bruins. If their efforts somehow proved successful on that front, the call’s shelf live figures to be short.
To have a call-in program that actually caters to the R.I. college hoops demographic and have it associated with the same station where the games are aired proved to be too golden an opportunity for Driscoll and the Friars to pass up.
“Andy has his show and talks about college basketball,” Driscoll said. “I’m excited about it. It’s a fresh start. Usually when you begin a new relationship, you have the chance to create something that’s a win-win. The men’s basketball program is doing so well and I think there’s a buzz and a great branding opportunity.
“It’s almost like the Big East. We came back together and it’s worked very well,” Driscoll added. “You want to know the people you’re dealing with. WEEI was great, but it’s a bigger organization. This is Rhode Island and Providence is a Rhode Island team. You want to be in a relationship with people who are excited about it.”