KCSU History
Article content credited to KCSU's Historian Shay Dite
Further down the line, in fall term 2025, KCSU began to expand its positions and therefore updated the previous mission statement to the following to better reflect the range of work, resources, and opportunities KCSU offers: The mission of KCSU is to teach students to collaboratively operate a radio station…Read More
Throughout our years of operating as an independent organization, by May of 2013, KCSU and the rest of RMSMC moved out of the Lory Student Center (LSC) during its construction and into an off-campus location at the corner of College and Laurel. This move was extremely challenging – being off-campus…Read More
Towards the end of the summer in August 2008, KCSU and the rest of the Student Media, including the Collegian, CTV, College Avenue, etc., became a 501c3 not-for-profit organization independent from the University, known as The Rocky Mountain Student Media Corporation (RMSMC).
In the summer of 1997, northern Colorado was hit with a flood that destroyed much of CSU- including the radio station. About one quarter of the music library was destroyed, meaning old recordings of KCSU broadcasts were lost forever. The station had to relocate to the old Fort Collins High…Read More
The 1980’s presented the debate of whether the station should be student-run or not. Some believed that it was too risky to have a student-run station because of mismanagement, and there was no direction on how a station was supposed to run if it wasn’t by professionals. Others believed that…Read More
The 1970’s was a fresh start for KCSU, with new equipment and the move to the basement of the Student Center, in the heart of campus. Getting a new receiver for the station boosted their status and attracted Northern Colorado listeners. They also transitioned to an FM transmitter, which produced…Read More
In March of 1960, KCSU ran its first test program with a pre-recorded segment via carrier-current to Newsom Hall. The program had music, campus news, and interviews with the radio staff that students could listen to through the phone lines. In 1964, KCSU finally received its’ FCC building permit and…Read More
The 1950’s was a time of change for the university, such as the expansion of the school, the name change from Colorado A&M to Colorado State University, and the exploration of a student radio station. The university felt radio would be a beneficial learning opportunity to students involved in drama,…Read More
World War II. Not the most romantic of beginnings for a college radio station, yet Colorado State University’s radio station owes its birth to this world event . Colorado State University, (known as Colorado Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Colorado A&M for short in the mid 20th century) was serving upwards of…Read More
