WCYQ was first licensed in 1974 as WOKI-FM. Dick Broadcasting acquired WNOX-FM/99.1 in Loudon, which became a simulcast signal for the news/talk programming WIVK. Shortly thereafter, the AM 990 call letters were changed back to WNOX. The news/talk format resided on 990 AM & 99.1 FM, jointly called "NewsTalk99 WNOX" until the move to 100.3 FM in 2005. 990 AM and 99.1 FM became WNML/WNML-FM, airing sports talk.
Citadel Broadcasting ended its lease agreement with Oak Ridge FM, Inc. for the 100.3 WNOX frequency two years early and announced that it would be broadcasting the programming of WNOX on both 100.3 WNOX and WOKI 98.7 from July 9, 2010, until August 1, 2010. On July 7, 2010, Oak Ridge FM announced plans for WNOX to stay news/talk, but with different hosts. Ed Brantley, the former general manager of the Knoxville Citadel radio group and a longtime WIVK-FM DJ, was hired as general manager of 100.3 FM, and John Pirkle of Oak Ridge FM said he would be an on-air personality. On July 19, 2010, WNOX moved its former programming to 98.7 WOKI, with 100.3 FM airing nothing but reminders that former WNOX listeners should turn to 98.7 because this was the new frequency. On August 1, 2010 the station's owner, Oak Ridge FM, Inc. regained programming control of the station and resumed broadcasting a news/talk format. On May 3, 2013, the sale of the station to Journal Broadcast Group closed and upon taking possession, WNOX began stunting towards a new format to be launched on May 9, 2013. The talk programming moved to WKVL 850 AM Knoxville, Tennessee. The country format of WCYQ moved to 100.3 permanently after simulcasting for two weeks and a classic hits format launched on 93.1 on May 23, 2013. On May 9, 2013, WNOX changed their call letters to WCYQ, swapping calls with WCYQ 93.1 FM Karns, Tennessee, which took the WNOX calls. Journal Communications and the E. W. Scripps Company announced on July 30, 2014 that the two companies would merge to create a new broadcast company under the E. W. Scripps Company name that owned the two companies' broadcast properties, including WCYQ. The transaction was completed in 2015, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals. Scripps exited radio in 2018; the Knoxville stations went to SummitMedia in a four-market, $47 million deal completed on November 1, 2018. On September 19, 2019 after stunting with construction sounds. WCYQ rebranded as "100.3 The Wolf".
