WXYC went on the air on March 17, 1977 with Joni Mitchell's "You Turn Me on I'm a Radio."

WXYC was preceded by WCAR, a carrier-current station that reached dorms on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus through electrical wiring. The station's alumni include top 40 radio host Rick Dees.

When WCAR wanted to upgrade in the early 1970s, it decided to pursue an FM license and begin broadcasting over the air rather than update the carrier-current system. Funding for the change to FM was provided by a student referendum passed in 1973. The physical conversion cost $35,000 and took two years to complete.

The non-profit Student Educational Broadcasting Inc. was established to serve as the official owner of WXYC's broadcast license, and in 1977 WCAR became WXYC. The station was originally scheduled to begin broadcasting in January 1977, but winter freezes prevented the installation of a transmitter on UNC's water tower and delayed the initial broadcast until March. Original funding for the station came from UNC student government funds and grants from local merchants. The initial budget for promoting the station's launch was $2,000.

For most of its early years, WXYC followed a typical "college radio" format that focused primarily on varieties of non-mainstream rock. In the early 1990s, WXYC made a decision to broaden its format to regularly incorporate diverse genres into its programming. This format is still in use.

Longtime music director Franz Kunst was instrumental in helping us shape our 1990s sound. Franz, who held the position from 1993 through 2001, left a lasting imprint on the sound of WXYC.

In 1994, the staff of UNC's SunSITE, the first Web site in North America, helped WXYC become the first radio station in the world to rebroadcast its on-air signal over the Internet. We're proud to have been at the forefront of the Internet radio medium. Click here for details.

WXYC alumni include ESPN anchor Stuart Scott, former Squirrel Nut Zipper Tom Maxwell and former Polvo guitarist Dave Brylawski.