The voice that launched hundreds: Remembering Trevecca’s WNAZ

Parker Henningsen

Sports Editor and Chief Photographer

Long before podcasts and playlists filled the airwaves, a small 10-watt signal from the basement of Trevecca’s Fine Arts Building began carrying a new kind of voice across Nashville. 

That voice belonged to WNAZ, Trevecca’s student-run radio station that shaped decades of broadcasters, storytellers, and communicators. For more than 40 years, WNAZ wasn’t just a station, it was a classroom, a community, and a launchpad for hundreds of students who learned the power of sound, storytelling, and connection.

“It started with a handful of dreamers,” said David Deese, a longtime Trevecca professor who helped run and later manage the station. “When I arrived as a student in 1965, there wasn’t a radio station yet. But by my sophomore year, plans were in motion. There were about five of us collecting albums and equipment, just trying to make it happen.”

On Saturday, Deese is being recognized, and all past WNAZ participants are encouraged to attend. Deese helped shape the radio station and was a professor at Trevecca until he retired in 2013.

The dream for a radio station took shape in 1966 when Professor Russell, then chair of the speech department, secured a $5,000 Title VI matching grant from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to fund the new station’s equipment. By May 23, 1967, WNAZ officially signed on the air. The studio was tucked in the Fine Arts basement, and a 65-foot antenna tower rose behind the building. Deese remembers being the one to climb the tower and adjust the antenna during test transmissions.

“We were learning everything as we went,” he said, laughing. “It was a real hands-on education.”

The programming leaned educational and cultural, including classical music and lectures from groups like the American Chemical Society. 

Brian Mason, a former WNAZ-FM general manager, later joined the team in the 1970s when WNAZ pivoted toward contemporary Christian music, helping pioneer a sound that would define Nashville’s faith-based radio for years.

“We had great help from local engineers at WSM Radio and TV,” Deese said. “It was all about teamwork. Everyone believed this little campus station could make an impact.”

In 1979, Deese returned to Trevecca after a decade away. This time, he came not just as a manager, but as a professor.

“I never thought about teaching,” he said. “But I decided to give it a try – and I really enjoyed it. The students made it worth it.”

During that period, the station expanded in both scope and signal strength. WNAZ grew from 10 watts to 1,400 watts by 1983, giving Trevecca a wider footprint across Middle Tennessee. It later reached 40,000 watts before its sale in 2011. Technology evolved, too.

“We were one of the early stations in Nashville to go digital,” Deese said. “We started with announcements in mono, then stereo, and eventually, we had hard drives big enough to store our whole music library. That’s when we could automate 24 hours a day.”

But no matter how the equipment changed, the mission stayed the same: to train communicators through hands-on experience.

“Study hard, get an internship, and make contacts,” Deese said, offering advice to today’s students. “Those connections will keep you working for life. But you’ve got to know your stuff, and WNAZ gave students that kind of practical training.”

That philosophy shaped generations of Trevecca graduates, including Greg Ruff, who would become one of the station’s most prominent voices. Ruff, a 1987 Trevecca alumni, credits WNAZ for helping launch his broadcasting career.

“That experience at WNAZ opened doors for me,” he said. “It gave me the chance to call games, to learn production, to make mistakes in a place where you were encouraged to learn.”

When Deese later needed someone full-time to call Trevecca basketball games, he turned to Ruff.

“Greg was dependable, good at keeping stats, and he never signed off until he had everything accounted for,” Deese said. “That consistency helped us build credibility.”

In 2011, Trevecca sold WNAZ, marking the end of an era. For Deese, the decision was bittersweet.

“There were two emotions,” he said. “Regret, because it was such a great public relations vehicle for Trevecca — but also relief. Keeping it funded was always a challenge.”

Still, he views the station’s legacy with gratitude.

“WNAZ trained hundreds of students who went on to work in radio, television, ministry, and media,” Deese said. “It wasn’t just about radio. It was about giving people a voice.”

From its humble 10-watt beginnings to its citywide influence, WNAZ left an imprint far beyond its signal range. Its static may be gone from the dial, but its sound still echoes in every story told, every broadcast called, and every student who found their voice.