WRUF is the fifth-oldest radio station in the state. It signed on the air in October 1928. In the early days of broadcasting, professors and students at several universities experimented with radio transmission, including at the University of Florida. WRUF originally broadcast at 830
kilocycles and was a
daytimer, required to go off the air at sunset. With the 1941 enactment of the
North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA), WRUF moved to 850 AM and became an affiliate of the
Mutual Broadcasting System. A WRUF used by UF alumnus
Red Barber during the 1930s is part of the
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's collection. It has been displayed in the museum's "Scribes and Mikemen" exhibit, and from 2002 to 2006, it was a part of the "Baseball as America" traveling exhibition. In 1948, WRUF added an FM sister station. WRUF-FM was among the earliest FM stations in Florida. The two stations simulcast most of their programs in the 40s and 50s. WRUF-FM began playing
classical music with separate programming in the 1960s and today it is a
country music station. Beginning in 1993, WRUF cancelled all its music shows. It became a
talk radio station, known as
Newsradio AM 850 WRUF. It featured a mixture of local and
syndicated talk programs, including
Jim Bohannon,
Dr. Joy Browne,
Larry King Live and
Sporting News Radio, plus religious programming on Sunday mornings. The Director of Programming is Rob Harder, Assistant Program Director/Brand Manager is Seth Harp, and the Sports Director is Steve Russell. In 2010, WRUF changed its format from news, talk, and sports to all-sports, calling itself
Sportsradio 850. On June 29, 2012, WRUF became a
network affiliate of
ESPN Radio. ==Programming==