90FM Holds its 56th World’s Largest Trivia Contest : THE LOVE CONTEST

“The Love Contest,” 90FM WWSP’s 56th annual 54-hour World’s Largest Trivia Contest, returns April 17–19, continuing its tradition of connecting the community through trivia.

The theme is picked yearly by 90FM’s trivia coordinator and question writer, Dave Coulthurst, who has been co-writing for the contest since 2023. 

“The theme for Trivia 56: The Love Contest is, well, love. It’s about spending a weekend with the people you love. And it’s about celebrating love in pop culture,” said Coulthurst.

90FM WWSP is a student-run radio station that delivers music, sports, news, and community programming. Trivia will be broadcast on their station at 89.9FM.

Students can join a team, and 90FM WWSP offers one free team registration per dorm. Coulthurst, who lived in Burroughs Hall and captained a team during his time at UWSP, said in his invitation that he hopes dorm rivalries continue as he remembered them from his playing days.

Trivia has been offered since 1970 from the 90FM WWSP headquarters at UWSP.

The station broadcasts eight trivia questions each hour, providing two songs in between to give teams time to call in with their answers and score points. The question kickoff starts at 6 p.m., Friday, April 17, and continues on until midnight Sunday, April 19. 

Teams can register at the station from Monday through Thursday, April 13-16, between 3-7 p.m., and on Friday, April 17, from 12-6 p.m. Out-of-town teams can find registration forms at 90fmtrivia.org.

“People don’t see just how much goes into it, not even just on the executive staff’s end, but also just for the community members; they do a lot to help out,” said Public Relations Director Kenny Chytracek.

Community members involved are trivia coordinator Jim Olivia and Dave Coulthurst. Additionally, trivia enjoys strong support from major sponsors such as Point Brewery, the Pineries Bank, Portesi Pizza, Skyward, Aspirus Health, Sentry, Mada Custom Apparel, Guu’s on Main, and the UWSP Alumni Association.

“It connects the locals to our college campus, and a lot of other colleges are really divided with their local communities,” said the production director, Will Hess. “Trivia is one of those things that helps us bridge that gap. It’s very important for the community connection.”

Teams from around the globe participate, with returning teams in the area dating back to 1970. The community has even added events, including the trivia movie and the trivia parade.

In addition, they host what they call the “Celebrity Shift,” where a local celebrity answers the phones. Celebrities include Cassandra Cepeda from News Channel Seven, local artist Kiva Freeman, Mayor Mike Wiza, and other surprise guests.

90FM WWSP’s student staff have been working endlessly to piece together each part of the contest . ‘It’s kind of the culmination of what the staff has been able to do for this year, reflecting our hard work and collaboration,’ said Business Director, Wesley Calawerts.

Students can also volunteer to help , including answering phones, helping with registering teams, managing computers, running questions, and volunteering in other spots.

All money from the contest goes directly back to the station to help provide for future years, keep the station running, and fund equipment and scholarships. 

Station manager Brian Larson said, “The fact that I’m just one of the many station managers in the 56 other installments of trivia is really kind of grounding and humbling.”  

For more information, you can contact 90FM WSSP at their website, https://90fm.org/.

Abigail Holmes

News Reporter

aholm452@uwsp.edu