World College Radio Day Date in the current year: October 4, 2024

College radio, also known as student radio, campus radio or university radio, is a type of radio station run by students of a university, college or other educational institution. The characteristics of such stations may vary greatly depending on the country, but more often than not, college radio stations enjoy greater freedom of programming and creative flexibility because they are non-commercial.

Many college radio stations have a varied programming with news (typically with an emphasis on local news), live sports (with a focus on campus sports), talk shows, game shows, and music. The greatest thing about music on college radio stations is that they are free and willing to broadcast various musical selections, including local, independent, and unsigned artists.

College radio stations play an important role in the education process. They give students the opportunity to acquire a wide set of skills that could someday come in handy even if a student doesn’t major in media or broadcasting. And for students seeking a career in the field, this experience can be invaluable.

The history of College Radio Day began in 2010. The person behind the idea is Rob Quicke, the General Manager of WPSC-FM (Brave New Radio) at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey. Quicke created the holiday to bring attention to the many college and high school radio stations across the United States, and to celebrate the impact of college radio. The inaugural event took place on October 11, 2011. It had more than 360 participating college and high school radio stations from the United States, Canada, and Jamaica.

The following year, Guillermo Gaviria from Colombia and Tiziana Cavallo from Italy independently reached out to Quicke, asking him to form an international coalition to make College Radio Day a truly global celebration. After a highly successful 2012 event, with 585 participating radio stations from 29 countries, Quicke, Gaviria and Cavallo teamed up to co-found World Radio Day.

The celebration has been growing ever since. Notable people who have supported and helped to promote World Radio Day include musicians Chris Martin from Coldplay, Wycleaf Jean, Moby, Andrew WK, Matt Kelly from Dropkick Murphys, as well as Chris Christie (the 55th governor of New Jersey), Rick Perry (the 47th governor of Texas), Italian president Giorgio Napolitano, American presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and many others.

How can you get involved with World College Radio Day? If you work at a campus radio station, register your station to become an official participant. Registration is free and gives access to lots of benefits, such as free content and software. If you’re a listener, you can check out your local college radio stations and find ways to support them, donate to the College Radio Foundation to keep World College Radio Day going, and spread the word about the holiday on social media with the hashtags #WorldCollegeRadioDay and #CollegeRadioDay.