KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Spanish-speaking fans of the Vols will have the chance to listen to every football game in their native language this season.
The University of Tennessee announced Friday that it would be the fourth SEC school to provide Spanish radio coverage of its football games. It said in a release that Tennessee Athletics, the Vol Network, Cumulus Media Knoxville and The Sports Animal were working together to bring Spanish coverage of the games.
The release said the Spanish broadcasts come after interest started last season when Tennessee provided its first Spanish audio broadcast of a Tennessee football game. This season, the release said WNML would be providing Spanish broadcasts of football games.
People can listen to the game on The Sports Animal's AM 990 signal in Knoxville, or through an online stream. The stream will be available on The Sports Animal's website, its app, the UT Sports website and the Tennessee Athletics app.
Carlos Lopez and Fuad Reveiz, a VFL, joined the Spanish broadcast team this year after they streamed the Vols' game against UT San Antonio last season. It was the first Spanish broadcast in Tennessee Athletics history.
Reveiz played for the Vols from 1981-1984 before an 11-year NFL career. He said he's proud to be part of the team bringing Spanish broadcasts to UT.
"The neat thing about it is that it's not to separate, it's not to divide, it's not to create something different. It's just a different avenue that everybody gets to enjoy the game that we all love," Reveiz said.
Lopez, a Knox County Schools teacher, started commentating in his living room two years ago. He said he never imagined being an announcer, but said it's possible for anyone.
"The message is, it doesn't matter where you come from. The message is, it doesn't matter how old you are. The message is, find something that matters to you, be the best at what matters most, and go with it. It doesn't matter how old you are, whatever dream you have, that dream can come true here in the United States of America," Lopez said.
Jean-Pierre "J.P." Vasquez will work as the broadcast studio producer, helping provide scores and updates on the games.
They'll kick off the radio show on Saturday, Aug. 31 for the UT game against Chattanooga.