College GameDay | |
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Format | College Football |
Starring | Chris Fowler Lee Corso Kirk Herbstreit Desmond Howard |
Country of origin | ![]() |
Production | |
Location(s) | Bristol, Connecticut (1987–1992) See locations below (1993–) |
Running time | 2 hours |
Broadcast | |
Original channel | ESPN (1987–present) |
Original airing | 1987 |
College GameDay is an ESPN show covering college football. It first aired in 1987 with Tim Brando as host and Lee Corso and Beano Cook as analysts. Beginning more-or-less as an analysis of college football games, the show would undergo a radical transformation beginning in 1993 as the show began incorporating "live" broadcasts. The official name of the show is College GameDay built by The Home Depot. There is a separate radio broadcast, ESPN Radio College GameDay, on ESPN Radio.
Today, the only original cast member remaining is Lee Corso. Chris Fowler serves as host and Kirk Herbstreit, former Ohio State quarterback, serves as Corso's counterpart and foil. Starting in 2008, Desmond Howard has been added to the cast in the show's introduction. Craig James, currently providing analysis on ESPN Thursday Night games and on ABC's Saturday afternoon games, was on the show in the mid 1990s. Steve Cyphers is usually featured as a reporter. Nick Lachey joined the crew as a contributor during the 2005 season. Discussions are often held between the GameDay cast and studio analysts, including Lou Holtz and Mark May.
College GameDay began its 23rd season on September 5, 2009. The show ended that season in Pasadena, California, site of the 2010 Citi BCS National Championship Game, on January 7, 2010.
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In 1993, GameDay began broadcasting live from outside a stadium hosting a game most Saturdays. The selected stadium is usually hosting one of the biggest matchups of the day, regardless of whether the game airs on an ESPN network. The first show "on the road" took place at South Bend, Indiana for the match up between #2 Notre Dame and #1 FSU. The show takes on a festive tailgate party atmosphere, as thousands of fans gather behind the broadcast set, in view of the show's cameras. Many fans bring flags or hand-painted signs as well, and the school's cheerleaders and mascots often join in the celebration. Crowds at GameDay tapings are known to be quite boisterous and very spirited. Flags seen at the broadcast are not limited to those of the home team; for example, one large Washington State flag can be seen at every broadcast, regardless of the location or the teams involved. The idea began in 2003 on WSU online fan forums and has resulted in the flag being present at over 80 consecutive GameDay broadcasts.[2][3]
The show's current intro and theme music is performed by country music duo Big & Rich, who perform their 2005 crossover hit "Comin' to Your City" with revised lyrics that mention several top college teams and a guest appearance by Cowboy Troy. Additional music that has been used for the show include "Boom" by the rock group P.O.D.
Typically, the show will end with Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit issuing their predictions for that day's key matchups, finishing with the game to be played at the stadium hosting GameDay, for which Corso signifies his prediction by donning the head piece of the mascot of his predicted winner. Starting with the 2009 season, a celebrity guest picker will give picks for the day's key games alongside the GameDay regulars (such as Bob Knight when GameDay aired from Texas Tech in 2008). Prior to 2009, this was not done on a regular basis.
In past years, when no suitably important game is available, it will originate instead from the ESPN studios. (Herbstreit, who in 2006 became a game analyst for ABC's Saturday Night Football, is not allowed to make a pick for the game at which he is assigned due to parent company Disney's conflict of interest rules; however, he is allowed to give one or two keys to the game.)
College GameDay was also a source for many arguments regarding the purported east coast bias: From 1993 until 2004, GameDay had only been to two regular season games on the entire West Coast (1998 at UCLA and 2000 at Oregon). Given the popularity of the show and the media coverage it brought to the highlighted game, teams and fans of the West Coast teams felt that the show was only magnifying the perceived problems with excess media focus on East, South and Midwest games; ESPN attributed its lack of West Coast games to the need for a very early start time (07:00 AM PST) and an alleged lack of high quality matchups.[4]
The show's current primary sponsor is The Home Depot. The secondary sponsor for many of the featured segments is Pontiac.
With the addition of the Saturday Night Football game on ABC in 2006, GameDay has increasingly aired from that game. This could be done for many reasons including the fact Kirk Herbstreit is on both programs, thus making it easier for him. Another reason could be to give the Saturday Night Football game added exposure.
Beginning with the show's 21st season (2007), College GameDay began broadcasting in high-definition on ESPN HD.
All game-time rankings are ESPN/USA Today (Coaches Poll). If a listing is blank, that week's show originated at the ESPN studios. Ohio State has hosted 12 College GameDay broadcasts. Ohio State's record is 9-3, with losses to Penn State, Texas, and Southern California. Florida has hosted 11 College GameDay shows (7-4). Michigan (9; 7-2) is third. The Gators have appeared in the on-site game the most times (32, winning 21). Ohio State (26) is second in on-site appearances. Florida versus Florida State has been the most-covered matchup, being covered eight times - five times in Gainesville, twice in Tallahassee, and once in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl.
Including the 2009-2010 basketball season's announced schedule, 17 schools (Boston College, Clemson, Florida, Kansas State, Kentucky, LSU, Michigan State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA, and Wisconsin) have hosted College GameDay for both basketball and football events.
During the 2006 season, as part of College GameDay's 20th year anniversary, they brought back some of the most unforgettable moments in the show's history. Some of the clips include:
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