THE VOL NETWORK STORY

Up until 1949, Tennessee football broadcasts were only aired on one station in Knoxville. The Knoxville stations took turns originating the broadcast from year to year.

In 1949, in anticipation of WLIL going on-the-air, Arthur Wilkerson contacted the folks at UT about the possibility of his station also broadcasting Tennessee football. They thought it was a great idea.

In fact, they thought other stations across the state might also be interested in broadcasting UT sports. There weren’t many takers, but it is believed there were at least six stations who said, “I do,” including WLIL. And so the ‘Vol Network’ was born under the direction of Ed Huster, Sr.

Today, well over one hundred stations across the state broadcast UT sports. Of the original six, several no longer exist, and others have gone in other directions, leaving WLIL with the distinction of being the oldest Vol Network station in the state.

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