KUFX, known for most of its life as “K-FOX”, made the rounds of three Santa Clara County FM frequencies between 1991 and 2026.
The first iteration of KUFX was found at 94.9 on the dial, replacing Gilroy-licensed KWSS when owner Nationwide Communications installed a switch from Top 40 to “classic rock and roll”. Â
Within a few months, Paul “The Lobster” Wells, a veteran rock radio host, had arrived to handle morning-drive duties. For the next several years, KUFX clawed its way from behind co-owned KSJO in a pitched battle for South Bay rock dominance to achieve a lead in the ratings.Â
KUFX would end up in the hands of San Francisco radio investor BayCom Partners in 1995.
In 1996, with radio acquisitions at a fever pitch, KUFX and KSJO (both owned by BayCom) were part of a $103 million dollar acquisition by American Radio Systems. By that time, KUFX was filling its morning-drive slot with the syndicated Don Imus Show.
In the fall of 1996, KUFX took a flyer on a rocker. Greg Kihn, who’d had numerous hit records in the ’80s, was hired to man the morning show. “It’s not even work,” Kihn told the San Francisco Chronicle‘s Joe Selvin. “I go out there, hang out and tell backstage stories, which is what I do anyway.” Â Kihn proved a perfect match for K-FOX and would be a fixture at the station until his 2012 retirement.
1997 saw KUFX shifted to the weaker 104.9 frequency as part of a three-way swap involving KBAY and KBRG. That lasted until the following year, when yet another series of mergers and acquisitions in the radio industry led the station to San Jose’s venerable 98.5 slot on the dial, the longtime home of the legendary KOME.
A notable connection between the two stations was Laurie Roberts, who’d been heard on KOME and became a key part of KUFX, serving as an on-air host as well as program director. Another notable voice on KUFX: M. Dung.
The station was known for its carriage of San Jose Sharks hockey broadcasts.
By the early 2000s, more corporate moves had put the station in the hands of giant Clear Channel Communications. By the time Clear Channel went private in a 2007 buyout led by Bain Capital Partners, the company owned 10 Bay Area stations.
KUFX wound up in the hands of Entercom Communications (later Audacy, Inc.) in 2011 in yet another radio industry shuffle. The station’s long tenure in San Jose was over as studios and offices were moved to San Francisco.
The changes weren’t over for K-FOX: CBS Radio’s merger with Entercom in 2017 required a divestiture of some stations to stay within Federal Communications Commission ownership limits. KUFX wound up under the ownership of Bonneville International.
The Salt Lake City-based broadcaster would consolidate its Bay Area properties in Daly City. KUFX continued to pump out the classic rock music that had been its trademark for over 30 years.
In 2025, Bonneville announced plans to sell its Bay Area properties to Connoisseur Media for $10Â million. This required the FCC to waive local ownership rules since Connoisseur’s Bay Area portfolio would be nearly double the FCC limit. The sale closed on May 15, 2026 and within months, KUFX was being shuffled off to its online app, an internet stream, and the station’s HD2 subchannel.
KUFX was replaced on the 98.5 FM frequency on July 22, 2026 by the country music sounds of KBAY, ending more than a half-century of rock and roll at 98.5.
