San José State University has announced it will launch later this fall a radio station dedicated to around-the-clock coverage of the Spartans, making it the first athletic department in the nation with its own 24/7 media presence.
The HD2 station, called The Charge, will produce select San José State athletic contests representing all of the department's 22 sports teams, podcasts including student-hosted podcasts, additional student-produced content, all-access show segments and coaches shows, as well as serve as the first-ever platform to feature student-athletes from all teams as they tell their stories in an effort to enhance their marketing opportunities in the new name, image and likeness (NIL) era.
Programming will be simulcast on the TuneIn audio streaming service, and fans can download segments on demand using Soundcloud.
"As part of our culture to be creative and innovative, The Charge provides our student-athletes with the first-ever platform dedicated to their experiences and opportunities in the NIL space," said SJSU athletic director Jeff Konya, according to the athletic department's website. "San José State has close to 500 student-athletes with many compelling stories, and this gives them an outlet to share what makes being a Spartan special. This also gives our fans and alums a place to tune in and get the latest news and stories of their favorite program as well as the hub for competitions and analysis."
"Spartan student-athletes will have unprecedented and unrestricted access to a top-six media market," said SJSU broadcasting, digital media coordinator Justin Allegri, the voice of the Spartans. "The Charge will be the first 24/7 station dedicated to a single athletic department and pave the way for the future of NIL and multimedia fan engagement."
