WPUC-FM

The Catholic University of Puerto Rico entered into broadcasting when it built WEUC,^[5] a 1,000-watt AM radio station operating at 1420 kHz, in 1958.^[6] The station, which signed on in May, was the island's first Catholic radio station.^[7] The station's call letters stood for Emisora Universidad Catolica (Catholic University Station).^[8] Bishop James E. McManus, who founded the university, had invited Father Carl Hammond to assist in the design of the buildings on the campus; Hammond, an avid ham radio operator, was instrumental in launching the station.^[9]

On May 17, 1979, the Catholic University of Puerto Rico applied to the Federal Communications Commission to build and launch a noncommercial FM station on 88.9 MHz. WEUC-FM was approved by the commission on January 11, 1982, but the station did not sign on the air until May 17, 1984.^[10]

The university sold the AM station in 2000 to El Mundo Broadcasting Corporation, owners of WKAQ-AM-WKAQ-FM in San Juan and WUKQ-FM in Mayagüez, for $1.45 million; the sale resulted in the AM frequency becoming a simulcaster of WKAQ.^[11] After selling the AM station, the university changed WEUC-FM's call sign to WPUC-FM, reflecting the papal designation of the pontifical title on the university, which had taken place in 1991.

The radio station serves dual purposes: as a communication media with the external community and as an internship for students studying communications.^[12] In 2014, the station's main studio was named for Luis Varela (1938^[13] - 23 June 2020^[14]), whose sports program Trinchera Deportiva aired from WEUC/WPUC since 1961.^[15][16]

After Hurricane Maria, WPUC-FM lost 80 percent of its coverage. The translator for Mayagüez, located inside the Maricao State Forest, was returned to service in January 2019.^[17]

• Radio Colegial: University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez
• WRTU: University of Puerto Rico-San Juan