Overview
KCOU is a noncommercial station run entirely by University of Missouri students and operates under Dean of Students. The station serves as an outlet for the newest in music from numerous genres, the latest in campus/community news, Mizzou sports, programs devoted to many different forms of music otherwise ignored by most commercial radio stations in the Midwest, and – most importantly – the voice of students.
KCOU also assists and partners with other organizations both on campus and in the general Columbia area.
Any current Mizzou student can apply to join the staff, and after successful completion of our training program, one has the opportunity to begin broadcasting almost immediately. We are for students by students, independent of race, sex, lifestyle or culture.
The Mission
KCOU’s mission is to lead and never follow. We accomplish this by playing diverse, groundbreaking music; delivering breaking and comprehensive campus news coverage; presenting Mizzou athletics and up-to-date sports content; producing relevant student talk shows that spotlight and encourage civil discourse on issues relevant to the student population; fostering an environment that encourages free expression, creative thought, and fierce originality.
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It Had to Start Somewhere…
KCOU’s past reaches all the way back to 1961 when KLOP began broadcasting from a broom closet in Cramer Hall. KLOP became a “real” station with KCCS 580AM in 1963, an amalgamation of several existing, small dormitory radio stations around the University of Missouri-Columbia’s campus, which later evolved into KCOU. The call letters for the station come from the abbreviation from the Columbia Regional Airport. The station was established to serve the students of the residence halls as well as the entire surrounding community of Columbia.
In 1972, Jim Green (president of IRHA and former chief engineer of KHMO Brookfield), John Bobel (general manager) and Marv Wells (program director) did all the legal, financial, and political work to create KCOU.
KCOU became the first station in U.S. history to be licensed to a student group within a university, and not to the university administration! Jim Green held the first-class FCC license and so was nominally technical director. R.J. Hanson (chief engineer the semester that KCOU went on the air) did the installation of the new equipment in the station. Marv Wells, Phil Bourne (former news director), Tom Lange (general manager after John Bobel left in May of 1973) and R.J. Hanson worked together to erect the antenna on top of Hudson Hall.
The FM was turned on live for the first time on October 31, 1973 at 88.3 MHz with 10 watts of power, and monaural audio, enough to cover most of the city of Columbia to the north, and south almost to Rock Bridge. Napoleon XIII’s “They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Hah Hah” was the first tune on the air.
In spring of 1974, Marv Wells and Bob Gallo (new chief engineer) designed the layout of the station with help from Marv’s roommate Jim Buesing, who was studying architecture. Mike Renth (new general manager), Marv and Bob oversaw all construction of the new double-sized radio station studio space, and Bob did all of the stereo design and wiring for KCOU and installed all the new stereo equipment, including the new 250-watt stereo FM transmitter.