Cullowhee, N.C. – Five radio station affiliates across eight frequencies in North Carolina and streaming audio online at CatamountSports.com are set to carry broadcasts of the Catamount Sports Network (CSN) during Western Carolina's 2022 football season. WCU Athletics has also announced the return of a weekly coaches' show – "Catamount Football Weekly with head coach Kerwin Bell" – that will air Monday night's on Facebook LIVE and originate live-on-location at Innovation-Cullowhee in Noble Hall in the heart of campus.
 
Broadcasts of Catamount football will have a strong presence on the air across the mountains of Western North Carolina including WISE Sports Radio 102.9 FM and 1310 AM out of Asheville; 970 AM WYSE in Canton; 105.7 FM and 540 AM WRGC "The River" in Sylva; 104.9 FM and 1050 AM WFSC, "Franklin's First Voice" in Franklin and north Georgia; and the new 95.3 FM WWCU (WWCUFM.com), which originates on-campus in Cullowhee.
 
CSN again partners with PrestoSports to not only provide an affiliate signal acquisition site but also unlimited free streaming audio through the athletics website, CatamountSports.com, giving WCU a worldwide reach.
 
Long-time play-by-play voice of the Catamounts, Gary Ayers, returns to the microphone this football season. Ayers has been behind the microphone for 36 of the past 37 years at WCU. He will again be flanked by returning crew members in long-time voice and broadcast producer Jeff Bryson and Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations and WCU football contact Daniel Hooker who will join Ayers and Bryson in the broadcast booth during games played away from Cullowhee for color commentary.
 
Each week, the CSN Pepsi pregame tailgate show starts 60 minutes before the scheduled kickoff time and includes comments from WCU head coach Kerwin Bell, in-game scoreboard updates, as well as other special features including the Catamount Calendar.
 
The Catamount Sports Network will also host a weekly coaches' show, broadcasting on WCU's official Facebook page each Monday beginning at 6 p.m. The on-location show will originate from Innovation-Cullowhee in Noble Hall with Catamount Nation invited to attend the show each week.
 
Western Carolina will again produce television/video streaming broadcasts for each of its five home games this fall that will air on ESPN's online platforms, ESPN+ (subscription required) or ESPN3 (cable/satellite subscription required).
 
Two of WCU's games – Saturday, Oct. 15 at Furman, and the Homecoming match-up with Wofford (Nov. 5) – will both air on the Nexstar linear television network in addition to the online ESPN stream as the "Ingles SoCon Game of the Week."
 
Western Carolina opens the 2022 season with consecutive road games, traveling to Charleston Southern for a Labor Day weekend match-up with Charleston Southern on Sept. 3 and a Sept. 10 date with Georgia Tech out of the ACC in Atlanta.
 
The Catamounts open the home portion of their schedule on Saturday, Sept. 17, hosting Presbyterian at Bob Waters Field / E.J. Whitmire Stadium in Cullowhee. The home opener includes a "White Out Whitmire," the 2022 Freshmen Run, WCU honoring its members of the Southern Conference's 100th Anniversary team, and the first performances of the "Pride of the Mountains" Marching Band. Fans are encouraged to wear their white WCU gear to the game as the Catamounts will match with their white Nike uniforms and will sport the vintage "The Cats" logo on their helmets. The first 5,000 fans through the gates will also receive a free "White Out" T-shirt. The Carolina Soul Band will be performing during tailgating just south of the Stadium Lot beginning at 1:30. The free concert is courtesy of Ingles.
 
Both season and single-game tickets, as well as game day parking for Western Carolina's 2022 home schedule, are on sale now through the WCU Athletics Ticket Office on the first floor of the Ramsey Center, by phone at (828) 227-2401, and online at www.CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (FB.com/CatamountSports; FB.com/catamountsportsnetwork) and Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountsFB).
 
2022 Catamount Sports Network Affiliates:
Asheville – WISE Sports Radio, 102.9 and 1310 AM
Canton – WYSE Sports Radio, 970 AM
Cullowhee – WWCU – 95.3 FM
Franklin – WFSC – 104.9 FM and 1050 AM – Franklin's First Voice
Sylva – WRGC – 105.7 FM and 540 AM – The River
Online – www.CatamountSports.com
 
Catamount Football Weekly – football coaches show
Monday evenings at 6 p.m. on Facebook LIVE
Live-on-location from Innovation–Cullowhee in Noble Hall on campus