| Broadcast area | Greater Birmingham -Central Alabama |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 100.5MHz |
| Branding | Jox Tuscaloosa |
| Programming | |
| Format | Sports |
| Affiliations | ESPN Radio Auburn UniversityTigers |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WAPI,WJOX,WJOX-FM,WUHT,WZRR | |
| History | |
First air date | 1991 (34 years ago) (1991) (as WLXY at 100.7) |
Former call signs | WLXY (1991–2003) WANZ (2003–2005) WRAX (2005–2006) WJOX (2006–2008) WWMM (2008–2010) WAPI-FM (2010–2013)[1] |
Former frequencies | 100.7 MHz (1991–1993) |
Call sign meaning | sister station to WJOX-FM |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 70914 |
| Class | C1 |
| ERP | 69,000watts |
| HAAT | 309 meters (1,014 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live Listen Live via iHeart |
| Website | joxtuscaloosa.com |
WJQX (100.5FM, "Jox Tuscaloosa") is acommercialradio stationlicensed toHelena, Alabama, and servingGreater Birmingham andCentral Alabama. It is one of severalsports radio stations owned byCumulus Media in the Birmingham area, along withWJOX690 AM and 94.5WJOX-FM. Most of WJQX's schedule is fromESPN Radio and it also carriesAuburn UniversityTigers sports. The studios are on Goodwin Crest Drive inHomewood.
WJQX is aClass C1 FM station. It has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 69,000watts. Thetransmitter is off Cedar Crest Road inVance, Alabama.[3]
The station was assigned the WJQXcall letters by theFederal Communications Commission on August 1, 2013.[1] It previously held the WAPI-FM call sign. From 1958 until 1994, the station currently known asWJOX-FM was known as WAPI-FM.
The forerunner of WJQX signed on at 105.9 FM in the summer of 1993 asWWIV, licensed toTrussville, a suburb east of Birmingham. Originally, WWIV was a simulcast ofWYDE, which at the time was atalk radio station. After a few months, WWIV becameWWBR and was known on the air as “105-9 the Bear”. WWBR was analbum rock/active rock station. While the format of the station was relatively well received by its listeners, a weak broadcast signal (3 kW) and less than ideal transmission tower location on Birmingham's eastern side hampered its ratings success.
In 1996, the format of WWBR was changed to alternative music, the call letters were changed toWRAX, and the on-air name of the station was changed to “106 the X”. In 1998, WRAX swapped dial positions with newly acquired sister stationWENN-FM, the former leading urban contemporary music station in Birmingham, and became known on the air as “107-7 the X”. The acquisition of WANZ byCitadel Broadcasting caused WRAX to change dial positions once again, and in March 2005, WRAX moved again. Its on-air name was changed to “The X @ 100.5”. During its time on the air as "107.7 the X", the station released seven charity albums featuring live performances under the name Live in the X Lounge which benefited United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham.
The station first signed on at 100.7 FM in 1991 asWLXY-FM. WLXY was originally licensed toNorthport, served only theTuscaloosa area and was known on the air as "Arrow 100.7", playingclassic rock. Despite being less than 60 miles from Birmingham, the signal of Arrow 100.7 didn't cover any of the Birmingham metropolitan area. This was due in part toWHMA-FM broadcasting fromAnniston at 100.5 and covering a significant part of the Birmingham area.
In 2001, WHMA-FM changed its city of license from Anniston toCollege Park, Georgia and became a part of theAtlanta radio market asWWWQ, leaving an open broadcasting channel for central Alabama. The ownership for WLXY petitioned to change the station's dial position from 100.7 to 100.5 in order to move its transmission tower closer to Birmingham and to boost its broadcast power, and in 2003, this petition was approved. In anticipation of its move into the Birmingham market, WLXY changed formats and call letters in early 2003. Looking to challenge Birmingham's alternative music station WRAX, the station adopted a similar format with the new call lettersWANZ. The station's on-air name was "Z-100.7". In April 2003, WANZ changed its dial position to 100.5 and began broadcasting from a taller tower nearVance, enabling its signal to cover both the Birmingham and Tuscaloosa markets. With the new dial position, the station changed its name to "Z-100.5".
In 2005, Apex Broadcasting, the owners of WANZ and several Tuscaloosa-area stations, sold their radio properties toCitadel Communications, owners of five stations in the Birmingham market including WRAX (107.7 the X), a station with a format that was virtually identical to that of WANZ.[4] Not wanting to have two stations competing in the same format, the call letters and other intellectual property ofWRAX was transferred to 100.5 FM in March 2005.
At 3:00 p.m. on November 29, 2006, 100.5 became the FM home frequency ofWJOX, beginning asimulcast of theAM sports talk station. The move came suddenly and unannounced on November 28, with the firing of the entire WRAX staff. On December 1, WRAX changed its call letters toWJOX-FM, and WJOX changed its call letters toWSPZ.[5] Reacting to the change in format at WRAX,Clear Channel Communications changed the format of itsWENN-FM on December 2, thus returning alternative rock to the airwaves of Birmingham.
WJOX-FM and WSPZ began separate broadcast schedules on January 8, 2007, with many of the established programs from the former WJOX moving to the new FM sports outlet. The program schedule on WJOX-FM was:
On July 31, 2008, Citadel changed the callsign of the station toWWMM (the double "M's" in the call letters standing for the station's slogan–"Birmingham'sModernMusic") and the city of license from Northport toHelena.
The sports talk format and WJOX call-sign were moved to94.5 FM on July 6 and 31, respectively, as 100.5 began simulcasting on 94.5 as part of the transition. The rumors were 100.5 would flip toRhythmic AC as "100.5 The Vibe", but this never materialized, and WWMM would instead flip toadult album alternative (Triple-A or AAA for short) as "Live 100.5, Birmingham's Modern Music" at 10:05 a.m. on August 15. The new station name and slogan were debuted live on-air by Scott Register, host of Reg's Coffee House, a local radio show, which held a special Friday edition of the program to kick off Live (the first song on the show was "How the Day Sounds" byGreg Laswell.) At Noon, the station launched regular programming, with the first song being "Radio Nowhere" byBruce Springsteen.[citation needed]
As WWMM, the station was never able to gain a significant share of local listenership.[citation needed] As rumors of a potential change in format began to surface, a Facebook group to save "Live 100.5" from the change (led by Jeff Tenner, owner of station sponsor Soca Clothing) garnered over 13,000 members after just a few days, and an online petition was started that garnered over 11,000 signatures to urge station management not to change the station's format. However, it served to be moot, as Citadel announced on February 14, 2010, that 100.5 would drop the format on February 22 in favor of a simulcast of sister stationWAPI. Reg's Coffee House aired its last show on 100.5 the same day; as a show of support for the protestors of the impending change, Register signed the show off with "Uprising" byMuse. The station then ran jockless until the change at 12:01 a.m. on February 22. The stations were co-branded as "100-WAPI".[6] Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.[7]
The on-air line-up of 100-WAPI featured Matt Murphy and Valerie Vining in the morning, and Richard Dixon in the afternoons. Weekends and evenings featured national hosts like Mark Levin, Mike Huckabee, Kim Kommando, Bill Handel and others. WAPI was well known locally for covering breaking news events live.
The station achieved even more prominence when multiple tornadoes struck Alabama onApril 27, 2011. Jim Stefkovich of the National Weather Service accurately predicted on WAPI ten hours before the tornadoes that the destruction would be very high and that there would be loss of life. As the tornado moved across northern Birmingham, WAPI hosts described it from their studio window overlooking downtown Birmingham. In the hours following the tornado, WAPI mobilized listeners to respond to critical needs, collecting and delivering more than two million dollars' worth of basic supplies (ten semi-trucks) in the hardest-hit areas. In many cases, the WAPI delivery was the first help to arrive in some areas. WAPI continued to match needs and volunteers over the next ten days and the public service efforts of the station were covered by news media like the CBS Evening News and the BBC. Hundreds of volunteers worked with radio station staffers to organize and conduct the massive aid deliveries quickly.
On July 24, 2013, the station announced it will joinESPN Radio as a sister station toWJOX-FM. This resulted in WAPI returning exclusively to 1070 AM. Originally announced asESPN Radio 100.5, the station announced it will simulcast several shows from WJOX-FM and call itselfJOX 2: ESPN 100.5. The change came one month afterWZNN dropped the format and brought the sports format back to the 100.5 frequency after 5 years.
This caused a name change onWDGM inTuscaloosa, as it was at the time a simulcast partner of WJOX as99.1 The Deuce. On August 1, WAPI-FM changed its callsign toWJQX to match the format. On August 12, WJQX made the flip to sports.[8]
In August 2025, WJQX rebranded as "Jox Tuscaloosa", now targeting the Tuscaloosa radio market.[9]
Among the changes Citadel made while [Dale] Daniels was in Birmingham was moving the once-popular alternative station The X (WRAX-FM) from the 107.7 frequency to the weaker 100.5 signal to start up Hot 107.7, an urban station. The X lost listeners after the switch, and in December, Citadel pulled the plug on the station altogether to make way for WJOX-FM, which moved from the AM dial to become Birmingham's first FM sports talk station.
33°05′42″N87°15′14″W / 33.095°N 87.254°W /33.095; -87.254