KNSU (91.5 FM) is a

campus radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

station licensed to

Nicholls State University Nicholls State University is a public university in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Founded in 1948, Nicholls is part of the University of Louisiana System. Originally named Francis T. Nicholls Junior College, the university is named for Francis T. Nichol ...

in Thibodaux, Louisiana. The station mainly programs

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

aimed at a college aged crowd, however the station also plays

hip hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...

on shows aired on the station. The station also broadcasts Nicholls Colonels athletic events. It is part of the Colonel Media Group, the overarching organization for NSU student media.

History

KNSU was originally licensed as KVFG-FM, going on air February 19, 1972. Previously, the station could only be heard via speakers in the Nicholls student union. It was the third college radio station to launch in Louisiana after

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

's WTUL and WLDC(AM) at

Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a Private university, private Jesuit university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the nam ...

, narrowly beating

WWNO WWNO (89.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is a public radio, public, non-commercial radio, commercial radio station in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. It is owned by the University of New Orleans, offering a news and information radio format with so ...

at Louisiana State University in New Orleans to the airwaves by one day. The "VFG" in KVFG stood for President Vernon F. Galliano, and the station broadcast with those call letters until January 1985, when the FCC reassigned the call letters KNSU from the Coast Guard to KVFG. The station began as a 10 watt station broadcasting on 91.5 FM which allowed for only on-campus and surrounding neighborhood area coverage. In 1992, the station was granted a construction permit to increase its effective radiated power; this change increased coverage to the surrounding regional area and the station was licensed in 1996 as a higher-powered 250 watt ERP and 45 meters of tower height station. In the summer of 1973, KVFG aired the Watergate hearings with simultaneous French-language interpretation. NSU chemistry professor Pierre Rathle handled most of the live interpretation. In 2019, Nicholls State announced plans for a new student media center, which would house studios for KNSU alongside the university's other student-run print and television media operations. The Media Convergence Center opened in 2021.

References

External links

College radio stations in Louisiana Nicholls State University Radio stations in Louisiana Radio stations established in 1972 1972 establishments in Louisiana {{Louisiana-radio-station-stub