The first radio station in eastern North Carolina and the second to be licensed in the entire state was WLAC at North Carolina State College. WLAC was founded by students and faculty of the communications department with a studio in Winston Hall. WLAC’s first broadcast was on Oct. 16, 1922. Guest speaker for the evening was Josephus Daniels, former secretary of the U.S. Navy and owner of the Raleigh News & Observer. Daniels made the ironic prediction: “Nobody now fears that a Japanese fleet could deal an unexpected blow on our Pacific possessions…radio makes surprises impossible.” Financial difficulty forced WLAC off the air one year later.

N.C. State student radio dates back to 1922, when WLAC at North Carolina State College became the first radio station in eastern North Carolina and the second to be licensed in the entire state. The AM station was founded by students and faculty of the communications department with a studio in Winston Hall. WLAC’s first broadcast was on Oct. 16, 1922. Guest speaker for the evening was Josephus Daniels, former secretary of the U.S. Navy and owner of the Raleigh News & Observer. Daniels made the ironic prediction: “Nobody now fears that a Japanese fleet could deal an unexpected blow on our Pacific possessions…radio makes surprises impossible.” Financial difficulty forced WLAC off the air in 1923.

More than 20 years after WLAC fell silent, a couple of aerospace and electrical engineering students brought radio back to the university with experimental station WOLF in 1944. WOLF was financed entirely by these two students and only reached a few of the student dormitories as a carrier-current station.

In 1945, WOLF’s call letters were changed to WNCS and the station was admitted into the Student Publication Authority. The university also began to take an interest in WNCS and helped it by providing financial support and a more permanent location in the 1911 Building.

The next changed occurred in 1947 as WNCS became WVWP, “VOICE of the WOLFPACK,” and made its first attempt at out-of-town sports coverage with a broadcast of the State-Davidson football game. In 1948, WVWP carried all home Wolfpack basketball games. The station was shut down by the FCC in 1952 for over-radiation of its signal, but WVWP returned in 1954 to broadcast the first ACC basketball tournament at Reynolds Coliseum.

In 1958 came yet another change in call letters, this time to WKNC 580 AM. The following year, WKNC became the first college radio station in the southeast to cover two independent campuses when they began broadcasting to Peace College.

Feeling the need to expand their coverage of NCSU and beyond, WKNC made plans to go to FM in the mid-1960s. As a carrier-current AM station, WKNC could only be heard in Lee, Sullivan and Bragaw residence halls.

In October 1966 WKNC 88.1 FM was born. With a 10-watt transmitter, WKNC-FM could reach most of Raleigh. After only a few years as a FM station, the staff discovered there were still many students who had AM radios in their dorms but not FM. To reach these students, WPAK 600 AM was established along with WKNC-FM to serve those students still without FM radios. WPAK also featured a more mainstream top-40 format as a contrast to WKNC’s mix of folk, jazz and classical music. WPAK was on the air until 1971.

The 1970s saw some major developments for WKNC. In 1972, the station moved into new studios in the University Student Center, since named the Tally Student Center. The studios, built almost entirely by student volunteers, included some unique design features to better accommodate the air staff. A 30-foot antenna tower was also built on top of D.H. Hill Library. WKNC increased its power from 10 to 1,000 watts in 1974 and began to tailor its format towards a progressive rock sound while continuing to feature jazz, top-40 and soul.

Another jump in power came in the early 1980s from 1,000 to 3,000 watts, good for about 40 miles outside of Raleigh. With a growing staff, audience, and power output – as well as improvements in format – WKNC became recognized as one of the top college radio stations in the country.

Entering 1991 and to celebrate its 25th Anniversary as an FM station, WKNC moved into a new studio in the Student Center Annex, later named the Witherspoon Student Center. On Saturday, March 9, 1991 WKNC 88.1 FM signed on the air from its new facilities. The station remains on the third floor of Witherspoon with the rest of N.C. State Student Media, nestled between Student Government and the African American Cultural Center.

In 1994, WKNC attempted to increase its power from 3,000 to 25,000 watts. At the same time, three other stations attempted to increase their power which created confusion due to signal interference. In 2001, the FCC approved WKNC’s construction permit. In October 2003, WKNC began broadcasting at 25,000 watts.

As HD Digital Radio increases in popularity, WKNC is looking now at the possibility of becoming one of the first college radio stations in the country to utilize this new technology.

Past General Managers

2006-2007 Steve McCreery

2006-2007 Brian Ware

2005-2006 Dave Nourse

2003-2005 Jamie Proctor

2001-2003 Arielle Menges

2000-2001 Joe Ovies

1999-2000 Chris Overby and Duke Rodgers

1997-1999 Alan Watkins

1996-1997 Charles Coulter

1994-1996 Christopher Phillips

1993-1994 Paul Williams

1991-1992 Christopher Newton

1989-1990 Elbert Alexan-der Jr.

1988-1989 Mark Zenow

1987-1988 Divakar Shukla

1986-1987 Charlie Helms

1984-1985 Chrystal Bartlett

1973-1974 Don Byrnes

1972-1973 Don Grady

1967-1969 David Brown