WPLS-LP

WPLS is a student-run radio station at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. The station features a variety of programming, much of which includes sports, classic rock, and independent music. WPLS broadcast on 95.9 FM until 2012, when the station dropped its FM license to offer streaming only services via its new website.

History

Furman took to the airwaves in 1940 when alumnus and trustee Roger C. Peace provided the university with its first studio, which broadcast on 600 AM. In its early years, the station was run on carrier current, meaning it was a very low power AM station that did not require a U.S. Federal Communications Commission license and broadcast through the campus electrical system. During this time, programming was routinely interrupted by inclement weather.

In response to changes in students' listening habits, Furman founded a new station, the Furman Broadcasting Association, or WFBA, in 1965. According to legend, WFBA broadcast "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones to inaugurate their new studio because the other rock stations in Greenville had deemed the song too obscene for the air.

Within a year, the Student Broadcasting Association chose to rename the station, which became Furman Radio Network, or WFRN. In the following years, WFRN became increasingly popular among students because the larger rock station in Greenville turned its antennas towards downtown at night, making it impossible to listen from campus.

The Furman Radio Network reshaped itself in the late 1970s when a station manager began pushing for WFRN to become an educational FM station. He, along with Student Services, convinced the university to put $10,000 into building an improved station.