WRFW Radio Earns Tom Butler Award

August 12, 2013—The University of Wisconsin-River Falls student radio station, WRFW, is the recipient of the 2013 Tom Butler Award by the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).  

The Tom Butler Award was established in 1998 and has been given annually to a representative of the print or electronic media for outstanding coverage of WIAC athletics. The league's sports information directors select the winner. The award is dedicated to Tom Butler, who served the conference faithfully as its sports information director from 1967-96.   

WRFW, which has distributed UW-River Falls sporting events for nearly 45 years, is the second student organization to win the Tom Butler Award. UW-Oshkosh's WRST radio claimed the honor in 2008. Located at 88.7 on the FM radio dial, WRFW broadcasted 99 UW-River Falls events during the 2012-13 academic year. Among the 99 contests aired were:  27 Falcon softball games, including ten in Clermont, Fla., during spring break; 17 women's basketball games; 16 men's ice hockey contests; 15 men's basketball games; 14 women's ice hockey games; and ten football games.   

In 2012, WRFW started using an IP connection for broadcasts of home games in Hunt Arena and Karges Center. The WRFW professional staff/faculty includes: Jason Unseth, Sandra Ellis, Richard Burgsteiner and Al Murray. During the 2012-13 academic year, Christopher Liermann served as sports director, and the station employed 13 broadcasters and staff personnel. 

For more information, contact Sandra Ellis, professor and chair of the UWR Journalism Department, by email at sandra.ellis@uwrf.edu or call 715-425-3169.