WSBF-FM began as a closed-circuit broadcasting facility at 600 kHz on May 1, 1958, with the words "Good Afternoon, this is the high fidelity voice of Clemson College".
The original transmitter unit that powered the station via the electrical system in the dormitories (primarily Johnstone Hall) still exists, and has been preserved.
The call letters SBF were the initials of the three student founders of the station, Suggs, Bolick, and Fair.
An article in The Tiger on November 12, 1971, states that the decision to change followed a telephone survey of listeners several weeks before, and that the response was favorable.
This coincided with the national rise of previously under-valued FM stations all across the dial as a source of "underground" and alternative formats.