Your Better Alternative Since 1955.

WRUV is the radio voice of the University of Vermont. It is a non-profit, non-commercial, educational entity licensed by the FCC comprised of UVM students, staff and community members. Most of the station’s funding is provided by UVM’s Student Government Association while fundraisers and community underwriting covers the rest. WRUV’s mission is to offer listeners an alternative radio experience and unique music programming, and to provide its members with opportunities for broadcast, leadership, and technical training.

WRUV made its official broadcast debut from its studios in the Pomeroy barn in January 1955. The program was carried via a closed circuit system to the men’s dormitories, Grasse Mount, Converse Hall, and the Redstone Campus. In 1956, the club started AM broadcasting of music. In fact, WRUV was one of the first AM stations in the Burlington, Vermont area.

The barn that housed the WRUV studios is at the rear. Circa 1970.

Simulcast AM/FM broadcasting began in October 1965 with the station moving to FM only in the early 1970’s. By the mid 70s, the station removed simulcast AM/FM from their repertoire and became a strictly FM broadcaster.

In 1986, WRUV crossed Main Street and moved into the basement of the Billings Student Center, quickly plastering the studio walls with thousands of pictures of different artists and musical groups. It began Internet broadcasting in 1997 and today can be streamed live around the world 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In the summer of 2007 the station once again moved, this time into the brand new Dudley Davis Center, the nation’s first LEED Certified student Center. The station’s 460 watt transmitter allows the station to be heard as far away as Canada and up state New York.

WRUV 90.1 FM of Burlington, Vermont, strives to provide their listening audience with an eclectic mix of music. From Celtic, Country and Hip-Hop, to Electronic, Rockabilly, and Punk Rock, the station presents a veritable smorgasbord of musical genres as well as news and educational content.

The station’s philosophy towards broadcasting is to provide a mixture of different styles of music and an alternative to the watered-down offerings of corporate-commercial radio. From ska, rock and jazz to house, hip-hop, classical or eclectic, the music choice is left to the disc jockey. With the largest music library in the State of Vermont – over 50,000 albums – it’s easy to be creative!

Each DJ is assigned a weekly slot of two to three hours and allowed to program their own style of show. With this in mind, most DJ’s go out of their way to provide what they feel is an alternative to what is found elsewhere in the community. The station has an on air booth, a production room, office and a music studio.

The station follows a rule of originality; programming presented by 90.1 is unique. Often, the same programming cannot be heard anywhere else. For these reasons, we have dubbed WRUV 90.1 FM Burlington’s Better Alternative.

Most importantly, WRUV affords the opportunity for community members and University of Vermont students to gain practical experience in the field of radio broadcasting.