The University of Texas System Board of Regents will discuss a contract that will allow the El Paso Community Foundation to program and operate KTEP-FM (88.5) with an exclusive option to buy the public radio station for $1 million within the next three years.
The regents will consider this during their quarterly meeting Wednesday and Thursday in Austin. The item is part of the board’s consent agenda, which means it’ll likely be approved without discussion.
The station has been part of the University of Texas at El Paso since the 1940s. It was El Paso’s first FM station when it received its broadcast license Sept. 14, 1950. The 100,000-watt radio station has provided listeners with a mix of news, talk and music.
The agenda item asks the board, which holds the station’s broadcast license, to agree that the proposed license agreement supports the public mission, and will allow the foundation to perform programming, broadcasting, fundraising and operations for the university. UTEP will retain oversight of programming, finances, facilities and Federal Communications Commission compliance through its operating and licensing agreements.
Eric Pearson, foundation president and CEO, and Lucas Roebuck, UTEP vice president for marketing and communications, did not respond to specific emailed questions about the plan. Both have said that talks between the two sides have gone on for years.
In email responses, Roebuck said UTEP had no additional comment, and Pearson said there was not much more to report at this time.
“The proposal is in front of you, and we are looking forward to next Thursday’s vote,” Pearson said.
The mission of the foundation, founded in 1977, includes providing leadership and resources that will address local challenges and opportunities.
KTEP’s signal can reach audiences within a 100-mile radius. Among its more popular shows are National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.” Its programming includes diverse music genres and shows purchased from NPR, American Public Media and Public Radio International, as well as some produced at KTEP.
The proposal calls for an initial five-year takeover by the foundation that would have started Aug. 1, 2026, and ended July 31, 2031. The agreement would allow for two additional five-year renewals. The agenda item states that the foundation would provide comparable programming.
If the foundation purchases the station in the first three years of the first term, the deal will include the station’s FCC license, permits and authorizations.
There was no recent activity regarding KTEP on the FCC website. The station’s license was renewed July 21, 2021. According to the FCC, Texas entities that want to renew their broadcast radio licenses must apply by April 2, 2029. Those licenses will expire Aug. 1, 2029.
The management switch comes as the station lost federal funding last year after Congress approved the Rescissions Act, which revoked $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
The loss of funds weakened many public radio and television stations across the country and forced them to reduce staff, eliminate programming and request additional support from donors and underwriters, businesses and nonprofit groups that provide financial support in exchange for a brief, non-commercial on-air acknowledgement.
KTEP’s 2024 annual financial report, the most recent one available, said the CPB granted $178,300 to the station, or about 23% of that year’s budget. Also in 2024, the station secured about $131,500 in fundraising, and $55,000 in business underwriting and grants.
From 2022 through 2024, UTEP provided an average of $401,000 in direct and indirect support for the station. Indirect support could include funds for maintenance, utilities, grant management, and building operations.
KTEP, which has been an NPR station since 1971, has been part of UTEP’s Division of Marketing and Communications since 2024. Prior to that it was under the university’s Department of Communication, an instructional part of the College of Liberal Arts.
As part of the existing Public Service Operating Agreement, the foundation will receive a separate license to use and occupy the studio space and equipment for free. The foundation would be responsible for repair and maintenance costs that go beyond what the university had budgeted, as well as operational service costs.
UTEP will continue to pay rent for the antenna site lease and for its share of the antenna and transmitter off Scenic Drive on the Franklin Mountains for up to $162,000 annually. The station’s studios are in the university’s Cotton Memorial building.
Among the other stipulations in the proposed agreement, the foundation would take over the station’s fundraising. UTEP will share its donor data from the past five years based on the conditions in a Donor Data Sharing Agreement. Any funds raised as part of the operating agreement would go to the station.
As no money would change hands initially, the Texas Attorney General’s office said the foundation could use the UTEP property if its purpose served the public good and that the university must maintain control over the foundation’s activities.
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