CUMULUS MEDIA announces that it has appointed national Sports Talk on-air personality and veteran radio programming professional Rich Herrera as Program Director and On-Air Host, Afternoon Drive, for Wildcats Radio 1290/KCUB-AM, the flagship station of the University of Arizona. This marks a return to Tucson and KCUB-AM for Herrera, who was the station’s original Program Director and Afternoon Drive Host in 2001, when it launched as Fox Sports Radio 1290. Herrera joins Wildcats Radio 1290 from the Padres Radio Network and 97.3 The Fan in San Diego, CA, where he was Senior Executive Producer and Pre and Post Game Show Host.
He was previously the Director of Radio and Pre and Post Game Show Host for the Tampa Bay Rays, and was a Sports Talk host for Sirius XM’s MLB Network Radio and on stations including 98.7 The Fan in Tampa, FL; KMOX in St. Louis, MO; and 790 The Ticket in Miami, FL. Herrera will continue to host national shows on CBS Sport Radio from Cumulus Tucson studios.
Ken Kowalcek, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus Tucson, said: “Rich’s energy, enthusiasm, experience and passion for Sports Talk radio make him the perfect addition to our Cumulus Media family!”
Rich Herrera commented: “I am excited to join Cumulus and am happy to be reunited with so many good friends and radio professionals in Tucson. The University of Arizona is one of the iconic schools in college sports and to be able to host afternoons and program their flagship is a fantastic opportunity. After working in Major League Baseball, I plan to bring many of those best practices to Wildcats Radio 1290, on-air and digitally, to build one of the best college flagship radio stations in the nation. The Wildcats are known for hard work, attention to detail and a winning tradition – and that is what we will bring to the station every day.”
Herrera added: “I have wanted to work with Bruce Gilbert for a long time and now I get to learn under his guidance, while working with Ken Kowalcek, Herb Crowe, and Keith Rosenblatt. It’s all anybody could ever ask for. I also want to thank everyone at CBS Sports Radio for their support in 2020 and look forward to broadcasting shows on the network from Tucson.”