KTRU to return to airwaves Oct. 2



less Rachel McLaughlin, second from left, stands with other KTRU fans and supporters during a Save KTRU demonstration when Rice University announced it would sell the station in 2010. The station will return to FM airwaves in October. Rachel McLaughlin, second from left, stands with other KTRU fans and supporters during a Save KTRU demonstration when Rice University announced it would sell the station in 2010. The station will return to FM ... more Photo: Nick De La Torre, Chronicle Photo: Nick De La Torre, Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close KTRU to return to airwaves Oct. 2 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Rice University's popular -- and briefly defunct -- student-run radio station will return to the airwaves next week, the university announced Friday.

The station -- still being referred to as KTRU, despite having new call letters KBLT-LP -- will broadcast on 96.1 FM from an antenna atop Rice Stadium. The antenna will have enough power to reach from Loop 610 South to Buffalo Bayou, according to the news release.

The station was relegated to the Internet when the university sold the station's broadcast tower, FM frequency and license to the University of Houston for $9.5 million in 2011. The Federal Communications Commission in February approved the construction of a low-power FM broadcast station at Rice, signaling a return of the station that long highlighted local artists and other musicians rarely heard on the radio.

Yellow and black KTRU stickers are still plastered in bars, coffee shops and elsewhere around town, a reminder of the love for the station that was embraced beyond the hedges of Rice campus by listeners looking to the left side of the dial.

The station will resume broadcasting Oct. 2 -- which coincides with College Radio Day, a celebration of college radio stations across the United States observed by hundreds of stations and founded in part in reaction to the sale of Rice's FCC license in 2011. That day's broadcast will feature live appearances from special guests.

"Returning to the air is truly turning the page to a new chapter in KTRU's history," George Barrow, one of KTRU's music librarians, said in a statement. "We're returning to our roots with the on-campus, low-power transmitter. Not only is this an important step in KTRU's story, but it's also extremely important for the Houston music community, since no station on the FM dial right now focuses on exposing local and emerging talent quite like KTRU does. It's amazing to be a part of this organization during one of its most important transitions."

KTRU will celebrate its return with a free concert on Oct. 1 featuring local artists Robert Ellis, Buxton and Deep Cuts at the Grand Hall at Rice Memorial Center.