WEXP was revived during the 1980s. The station featured mostly heavy metal music. This was in sharp contrast to previous formats, which included easy listening, adult contemporary, album-oriented rock, and freeform. After collapsing again in 1988, the station returned on 530 AM in 1989. “EXPress 530”, as the station was referred to, was again just a carrier current AM signal. In February 1988, the university had the opportunity to purchase WPWT 91.7 FM, and operate at an initial expense of $100,000. Many students, and most notably professors from the communication department, pushed for support of the project. The University Budget Committee, however, rejected the plan that would have given WEXP an FCC-regulated FM station with an annual operating budget of $50,000.