With the most prominent and influential college football pregame show in America coming to Oxford this weekend, there seems to be a good amount of people within the university and the city who don’t know what the show is.
College GameDay is, to put it simply, a show hosted by ESPN each Saturday that previews all college football games that day has to offer.
Students and fans of the university chosen to host the show pitch their sleeping bags and tents in the early morning hours before the show kicks off at 9 a.m. eastern time, waiting for the sun to rise and to secure a spot in front of the large orange Home Depot set the show is broadcast on.
In the tailgate-like atmosphere, thousands of fans are enclosed within bright orange fences that try to contain the passion and excitement of fans hoping for a spot to witness the show in person. The fans boast their college football knowledge and love for the sport throughout the duration of the show.
One of the many aspects the show is known for is fans bringing in hand-drawn or painted signs supporting their university or taking on highly debated college football topics, looking for their 10 seconds of fame.
The show started in 1987 with former ESPN analyst and now CBS Sports analyst Tim Brando. The show was pre-recorded then, but in 1993 the show made the change to live-broadcasting from college campuses that had a notable football game that Saturday.
The only original cast member from the premiere show in 1987 who remains on the show is Lee Corso, former Florida State football player and prominent voice of college football for ESPN. His well-known slogan “Not so fast my friend!” is always said in disagreement with the other analysts when making predictions.
What Corso is most known for is the famous headgear prediction. With about 10 minutes left in the program, analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Chris Fowler, Desmond Howard and David Pollack join Corso in making predictions for each game. For the game of the host university, Corso puts on the mascot head or helmet representing the school he picks to win. The moment Corso makes his headgear pick is the signature moment of College GameDay.
Sports broadcaster Chris Fowler now serves as the main host for the show. He is joined by former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, former Michigan defensive back and heisman trophy winner Desmond Howard and former Georgia defensive lineman David Pollack as current analysts. Sideline reporter Samantha Ponder reports feature stories and conducts interviews relating to the game where the show is located.
Another aspect of the show that makes it famous is the celebrity guest picker during the prediction segment of the show. A celebrity associated with the university, a former athlete of the university, or TV/Radio personality associated with the university are the usual suspects invited to be the guest picker.
Archie Manning or Leigh Anne Tuohy could be candidates for guest picker at Ole Miss.
College GameDay started as a two-hour program, but expanded to three hours in 2010, where the first hour of the show was broadcasted on ESPNU at 9 a.m. The show would continue to ESPN at 10 a.m. By popular demand in 2013, the show moved to 9 a.m. full time, broadcasting on ESPN for the whole duration of the show.
In the 21 years of the show being broadcast live, the show has never been to Ole Miss. Ole Miss has also never been a participant as an away team for the live broadcast of the show.
The Grove has not been given the proper exposure the university deserves. College GameDay needed a reason to come to Ole Miss and it is finally here.
