In keeping with a growing trend in the coverage of college athletic programs, Virginia has ended its nine-year association with WFIR-AM in Roanoke and jumped to the FM dial.

Starting in the fall, Bob-FM will serve as the Roanoke and Lynchburg home for UVa football games, men's basketball games and coaches' radio shows.

UVa sporting events will be broadcast simultaneously on WZZI (101.5 FM) in Vinton and WZZU (97.9) in Lynchburg.

Previously, UVa had been carried by WLNI (105.9 FM) in Lynchburg, but WLNI will be joining the Tech network.

All three stations are owned by Centennial Broadcasting.

"Years ago, that couldn't happen because you could only own one radio station," said Harry Williams, market manager for Centennial Broadcasting. "Since radio got semi-degulated in the mid-1990s and you could own up to seven stations, it's much more common to see this.

"I'm originally from Alabama and I know in Birmingham, in the past if not now, the same company had both Alabama and Auburn in football and basketball. The listeners just want to listen to their favorite team on the radio."

The FM stations will have a wider range and a clear signal. From 1985 to 1997, UVa was on WROV-AM, which had a 1,000-watt signal. WFIR had 5,000 watts but did not carry much past Roanoke County at night.

At least one of the Bob-FM stations should be audible in Lexington, Williams said.

Johnson won't be back

Virginia football coach Al Groh, featured speaker Wednesday night at a Virginia Athletics Foundation event in Roanoke, said that defensive lineman Chris Johnson will not be rejoining the team for the upcoming season.

Johnson, one of five UVa players placed on one-year academic probation following the spring of 2005, was under the impression that his scholarship would be renewed if he regained his eligibility. Groh said that Johnson was welcome to rejoin the team as a walk-on, at which point he would have a chance to earn a scholarship.

Johnson and his mother recently voiced their displeasure in a meeting with Groh, at which point there was a mutual parting of company.

Of the five players who were suspended, the most likely to return is former SuperPrep All-America defensive back Philip Brown, who worked in Charlottesville during the first semester and has attended class at Piedmont Virginia Community College this spring. Groh said strength coach Evan Marcus has provided Brown with workouts that he is following on his own.

Still recruiting

Calvin Baker, the leading scorer for a William and Mary team that finished 8-20, has indicated that Virginia is among the schools that he will consider now that he has decided to transfer. Baker, a 6-foot-2 "lead" guard from Woodside High School in Virginia Beach, averaged 11.6 points and also had a team-high 100 assists. He was 43-of-156 (27.6 percent) on 3-pointers.

Virginia, which has two scholarships available, has played host the last two days to Jerome Meyinsse, an unsigned 6-9 post player from McKinley High School in Baton Rouge, La.

Meyinsse, a second-team all-state selection with a 4.0 grade-point average, is the son of two professors at Southern University-Baton Rouge.

The spring signing period ends Wednesday. Virginia has a commitment from 6-4 Solomon Tat, a Nigerian who attends high school in Stockbridge, Ga., but Tat has visa issues that are unlikely to be resolved by next week. Tat could still enroll at Virginia without signing a letter-of-intent.

Stars on horizon

Mark Guilbeau, named ACC coach of the year after leading the Virginia women's tennis team into the top 25, has signed seven-time national junior champion Jennifer Stevens from Miami.

"She has been one of the very strongest junior tennis players in the United States throughout her entire career," said Guilbeau, whose Cavaliers will meet Alabama today in Durham, N.C., in the first round of the NCAA playoffs.

Another Guilbeau recruit, Kristen McVitty from Woodland Hills, Calif., is ranked No. 1 in the United States Tennis Association under-18 rankings.