Abbotsford Heat games will be back on the radio this season.
The team announced Monday that they've struck a deal with CIVL 101.7 FM, a campus and community radio station that serves the University of the Fraser Valley, to broadcast all 76 home and away games.
Heat games were broadcast on Country 107.1 for the first three seasons of the franchise's existence (2009-12), but there was nothing similar in place last season following the expiration of that partnership.
Live broadcasts were available online at Teamradio.ca, and that partnership has been renewed for the coming season, but team president Ryan Walter said it was important to get Heat games back on the airwaves.
"We had a number of people who said, 'Hey, we want this,'" he said. "There's no doubt we needed to adjust, and we're excited to give this a try.
"We have a very strong partnership with UFV. We're close to each other location-wise, and we're two organizations that want to continue to grow. . . . I think CIVL will have some benefit from our reach and the people that listen to us, and we'll get the benefit of having our games on the air."
In a press release, CIVL station manager Aaron Levy said that CIVL will be the only campus radio station in Canada to be regularly broadcasting pro sports games.
The Heat broadcasts will feature new play-by-play man Brandon Astle, who was hired by the club in August after five seasons with the Langley Chiefs/Rivermen of the B.C. Hockey League.