The Federal Communications Commission licensed the station on April 16, 1986, as WJCU to Elmira, New York-area radio personality Joel Clawson and local engineer William Sitzman.

[citation needed] About three months later, the FCC approved a callsign change to WPIE, which was chosen in honor of Clawson's wife, a baker.

The station signed on in 1989, airing an easy listening format that featured music from abroad obtained by Sitzman's programming company.

Sports coverage was expanded the next year, when the Elmira-based Pembrook Pines Media Group bought the station.

In the late 1990s, Pembrook Pines switched WPIE to an all-sports format, featuring ESPN Radio, and moved its main studio into its Elmira headquarters, which included the studios of all-sports WELM, easy-listening WEHH, urban contemporary WLVY and country WOKN, all of which serve the Elmira-Corning market rather than Ithaca.

Shortly after relocating, the station added an afternoon local sports talk show - "Between the Lines" - to its programming lineup.

WPIE airs nearly 70 high school play-by-play broadcasts throughout the year, including regular season and postseason football, soccer, basketball, hockey, baseball, and lacrosse games.