One version of my radio nerd dream vacation includes a cross-country road trip, with numerous stops at college radio stations along the way. With family in tow, it’s a tough sell; however over the years I’ve been able to convince them to indulge me in my obsessive quest to tick off more spots on my mental list of must-see radio stations. In summer 2023, with my kid settled in at a summer program in Manhattan, my husband and I sought adventure on the open road, trekking from the Big Apple to Chicago. Of course there were countless college radio stations on our route, but I exhibited restraint and only booked two tours.
Close to the beginning of our journey, we started our day in the Catskills. After a very stormy night, we took a beautiful hike to a waterfall and then wandered about the small town that we were staying in. We poked around a vintage car show, then hit the road to Oneonta to see WONY 90.9 FM at the State University of New York, Oneonta, about 80 miles west of Albany. Unsurprisingly, campus was quiet on the Saturday in mid-July that we visited. Just about to head out on vacation himself, WONY faculty adviser Andrew Bottomley happily met up with us to give the grand tour.
WONY’s New Digs Retain Touches of College Radio Station’s Past
An interesting aspect of WONY is that it’s housed in a relatively new location with the latest audio equipment and technology, yet it retains some of the charm of its most recent long-time home. When Bottomley began working as faculty adviser in 2016, plans were already underway for the station to move. As he got more involved with the process, he took a lot of care to listen to both students and alumni who expressed concerns about losing the visible expressions of the station’s personality – from physical media like records and CDs to vintage equipment to sticker-covered doors.
A creative example of this effort is the student-painted dragon mural that greets visitors as they step into WONY. A photographic reproduction of a mural from the wall of the old station, it’s one way that alumni can feel welcomed back into a familiar-feeling space. Traditionally, alumni sign that wall during station reunion weekends every year; so the new wallpaper-style mural allows for both new and old autographs to remain. The dragon is a nod to the Red Dragon mascot for SUNY Oneonta; however that mascot is not used exclusively at WONY, which also added a cute blue whale (Wally) as a station mascot perhaps a decade or so ago.
With a 60+ year history dating back to 1961, WONY has an active and engaged crew of alums, many of whom had “trepidation” about the latest station move. Bottomley said that those fears have largely dissipated, in part because former station members can see things at the new WONY that “connect to the old space,” including a decades-old console displayed on a wall next to award plaques and framed certificates.
Physical Music is Prioritized in WONY’s Revamped CD Library
Additionally, as part of an independent study project, a student organized and cataloged the WONY CD library in a way that both shows pride in the collection; but that also makes it easier for DJs to access and utilize the discs. With around 10,000 CDs from mostly the late 1980s to around 2004, WONY’s music library was in the process of being digitized at the time of my visit. Bottomley was pleased that with a CD revival happening, many students at WONY are “starting to discover CDs in the way that students were discovering vinyl in the past.”
Unfortunately, not much vinyl is left at WONY following a mysterious vinyl sell-off circa 2008, which was rumored to have financed the purchase of a conference table. That series of events angered alumni and as a result Bottomley wanted to protect the CDs and ensure that the sense of betrayal that many felt regarding the lost vinyl would not be repeated. He said that alumni would get teary-eyed as they spoke about the records that were disposed of and remarked that, “I’m not going to let that happen to the CD library.”
Completed during the height of COVID in the 2020-2021 academic year, the current home for WONY is centrally located in the basement of Hunt Union, next to a theater. The station space includes two broadcast studios, two podcast booths, a production office and an administration office. Now in its 4th location on campus, WONY’s previous digs were in Alumni Hall, which was slated for renovation.
WONY History: 1962 Launch as AM Carrier Current Station
Launching as an AM carrier current station (at 620 AM) in 1962, by the late 1960s, WONY had added an FM signal through a partnership with the local cable television network. Bottomley told me that this was one of the first cable television networks in the United States and WONY’s inclusion on it made it one of the early college radio participants. This expanded the station’s reach to the town of Oneonta, as residents could tune in through video cable at 93.6 FM when it launched in March 1968 and later on a series of other spots on the dial, including 89.0 in December 1968 and at 106.3 in 1972.
Cable FM and Expanded Programming for WONY in Early 1970s
During this period, WONY’s General Manager Roger Smith worked to get more attention for the station, writing to IBS’ Journal of College Radio imploring the publication to highlight smaller stations in its “Station of the Month” feature. In his April 1971 pitch for WONY (published as a “letter to the editor”), Smith asks, “What about the little guy who might be running a pretty good ship, without anyone being paid, operating on a minimal budget, without speech department backing or even the active help of an advisor? He rarely receives recognition or even a pat on the back from The Journal.” He goes on to describe WONY as “just a small, average college radio station” and included photos and details about WONY’s operations that were published as a stand-alone article titled “Bigger and Better” in the same issue. The station had expanded into new studios the year before and WONY was on the air with live programs 21 hours a day. Some highlights of the station’s programming in 1971 included remote basketball game broadcasts and a weekly coffee house show.
WONY-FM Launches in 1976
Although the 1971 Journal of College Radio article didn’t include mention of WONY’s cable FM endeavors, a few months later in its February 1972 issue, the publication reported on this as a trend in broadcasting. The piece describes cable FM as a “new method of college broadcasting” that had been “growing substantially in the last few years.” They cited seven known stations in operation, including WONY, which was on cable FM through at least 1974. Within a few years, WONY’s reach expanded even further after it acquired an FM license from the FCC. In 1976, WONY-FM officially launched over 90.9 FM with 10 watts of power. Eventually, the station’s power increased to its current 180 watts over the same frequency.
WONY Programming and Events in 2025
A student-operated and student-funded organization, WONY is active both on and off the air. To participate in station activities, one must be either a SUNY Oneonta student or faculty member. The station airs both music and talk shows, including some shows that blend the two, like Ball & Beats, which is described on the schedule as “a show about sports and other fun topics while listening to Hip-Hop hits.” On Saturday nights, “What’s for Dinner” is a show “dedicated to thinking about, talking about, and planning what’s for dinner,” with each episode tackling “a new food topic” while also playing music. Other programs focus on alternative rock, music from vinyl records, 1970s-1990s music, pop, indie, and “themed music” (a recent edition was about music from the British Invasion).
Additionally, all members and DJs at WONY are required to join a station department (music, production, PR or events). Each year, WONY puts on two big concert events: HalloWONY in the fall and WONY Island in the spring. The most recent WONY Island was a Sunday afternoon show featuring 10 local bands playing sets in the Fine Arts building on April 6, 2025. The station will also participate in Vinylthon this year, playing 24 hours of music from vinyl records starting on April 12 at 8pm.
Thanks to WONY and Full Roster of Station Tours
Thanks to my friend Andrew Bottomley for taking the time out of his summer back in 2023 to show me around WONY!
This is my 176th radio station tour report and my 118th college radio station recap. You can peruse all my radio station visits in numerical order or by station type in our archives.
