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*October 27: #1 [[Ohio State Buckeyes|Ohio State]] at #25 [[Penn State Nittany Lions|Penn State]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gopsusports.cstv.com |title= ESPN's College GameDay To Originate from Penn State This Weekend}}</ref>
*October 27: #1 [[Ohio State Buckeyes|Ohio State]] at #25 [[Penn State Nittany Lions|Penn State]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gopsusports.cstv.com |title= ESPN's College GameDay To Originate from Penn State This Weekend}}</ref>
*November 3: #6 [[Arizona State Sun Devils|Arizona State]] at #4 [[Oregon Ducks|Oregon]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3383&SPID=233&ATCLID=1290985&DB_OEM_ID=500|title=Lee, Kirk and Co. Return for an Encore - GoDucks.com—The University of Oregon Official Athletics Web Site}} <!--~~~~aharwood09 10/28/2007, updated with BCS rankings when they were released 10/28/208--></ref>
*November 3: #6 [[Arizona State Sun Devils|Arizona State]] at #4 [[Oregon Ducks|Oregon]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3383&SPID=233&ATCLID=1290985&DB_OEM_ID=500|title=Lee, Kirk and Co. Return for an Encore - GoDucks.com—The University of Oregon Official Athletics Web Site}} <!--~~~~aharwood09 10/28/2007, updated with BCS rankings when they were released 10/28/208--></ref>
*November 10: Amherst at Williams


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Revision as of 21:09, 5 November 2007

College GameDay
File:College gameday logo.gif
StarringChris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit
Country of origin United States
Production
Running time2 hours
Original release
NetworkESPN (1987-)
Release1987 –
Present

College GameDay is an ESPN show covering college football. It first aired in 1987 with Bob Carpenter as host and Lee Corso and Beano Cook as analysts. Beginning as a more-or-less routine pre-game 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. Craig James, currently with ESPN on ABC, was on the show in the mid 1990s. Desmond Howard and Rocket Ismail serve as frequent contributors. Steve Cyphers is usually featured as a reporter. Nick Lachey joined the crew as a contributor during the 2005 season. Doug Flutie joined in 2006. Discussions are often held between the GameDay cast and studio analysts, including Lou Holtz and Mark May. It's not uncommon for Auburn alumnus Charles Barkley to appear (via phone or at site) to discuss Tiger football.

GameDay began its 21st season on 2007-09-01 at Virginia Tech. The show is broadcast live for 2 hours, from 10am-noon ET. Starting with the 21st season, GameDay is presented in high-definition on ESPN HD.

Personalities

Backstage of the set - Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, and Chris Fowler
The GameDay crew record a post-game segment for SportsCenter.

Current

Former

History

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.

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.

Corso picks Miami to upset Virginia Tech: note the head of Sebastian the Ibis.

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. On occasion, when no suitably important game is available, it will originate instead from the ESPN studios. (Herbstreit, who in 2006 became a game analyst, usually on ABC's Saturday Night Football, is not allowed to make picks for games at which he is assigned due to parent company Walt Disney Company's conflict of interest rules.)

College Football 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.[1] Since the 2004 season the show has originated from West Coast/Pac-10 schools four times, nearly as many as the previous ten years.

The show's current primary sponsor is The Home Depot. The secondary sponsor for many of the featured segments is Pontiac.

The largest crowd ever to show up for the College GameDay telecast was on 2001-09-08 where 15,808 packed Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, NE.[2]

On 2006-11-04, Chris Fowler did not host the show for the first time in 16 years. Rece Davis, host of College Football Final filled in for him. Fowler was on assignment, hosting ESPN's coverage of the Breeders Cup from Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

20th Anniversary Memorable Moments

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:

  • College GameDay Hits the Road: On 1993-11-13, College GameDay hits the road, after six years in the studio, to see the #2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the #1 Florida State Seminoles in "The Game of the Century". Lee Corso picks Florida State 31-30, but the end result was Notre Dame 31-24.
  • Herbstreit Joins GameDay: On 1996-08-31, former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Kirk Herbstreit joined the College GameDay crew, to complete the cast that hasn't changed since.
  • Corso's First Mascot Head: On 1996-10-05, a tradition starts when Lee Corso picks Ohio State to beat Penn State by sporting Brutus Buckeye's mascot head. Since that day, every College GameDay has ended with Corso sporting the team's head gear, usually a mascot head or another headpiece when a team does not have a suited mascot, such as a Trojan-style helmet for USC or the signature winged helmet of Michigan. In recent years, however, many fans have seen Corso's pick as bad luck; hence, the crowd behind the GameDay set will often jeer Corso if he picks the home team to win the game.[citation needed]

Locations[3]

The College GameDay setup

All game-time rankings are ESPN/USA Today (Coaches Poll). If a listing is blank, that week's show originated at the ESPN studios. The Ohio State University is the current leader (entering the first week of October of 2007) for the most times hosting the broadcast with 10 events. Florida (9) is currently second, although the Gators have appeared in the on-site game the most times (26). Florida State (21) is currently second. Auburn has appeared nine times, however, 10 were scheduled. One was rescheduled because of Hurricane Ivan.

1992-93

  • December 1992-January 1, 1993: (Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana - ESPN Crew is live at the Sugar Bowl for the National Championship Game between #1 ranked Miami and #2 ranked Alabama. Alabama wins the game.

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

College GameDay in Austin, Texas on September 92006.

2007

Nebraska fans react negatively to Lee Corso's decision to pick USC to win their September 15th game.


Segments

The GameDay crew gathers at the Home Depot field for a demonstration while in Blacksburg
  • By the Numbers: This segment appears twice in the show, when they examine various number of games by the numbers.
  • GameChanger: At the end of the show, Fowler, Corso and Herbstreit all pick a player that they think will have a game changing performance. This segment is sponsored by Pontiac.
  • Saturday Selections: This is the most famous segment of College GameDay, when Corso and Herbstreit make their predictions on the top games in college football. This also includes the game at which GameDay is present, when Lee Corso puts on the head of the mascot whose team he predicts to win that game.
  • Speed Drills: In this segment, Fowler throws about six or seven questions at Corso and Herbstreit to answer in 60 or 90 seconds.
  • Spirit Meter: This segment, which was taken from the basketball version of College GameDay, looks to see how loud the crowd behind them really is. In its short existence on the football version, the loudest so far has been at Autzen Stadium, set on 2007-11-3 at 127.2 dB.
  • Trick of the Trade: In this segment, Desmond Howard is joined by either Lee Corso or a player to break down a play that a team runs so well and how to stop it.
  • Upset Special: This is at the end of each hour when ether Corso or Herbstreit predict an upset to happen in a big game. Corso usually makes his at the end of the first hour and Herbstreit makes his before the Saturday Selections, at the end of the second hour.
  • What 2 Watch 4: This appears twice throughout the program, when they run down all of the big games and examine them.

Spin-offs

Notes

  1. ^ As Mark Gross, coordinating producer of GameDay, noted: "You're asking a thousand people to show up 12 hours before the game starts [. . . ] By no means are we ignoring (USC). We always discuss the possibility. But the time is something to think about." Patrick Kinmartin, What time is it? Time for 'College GameDay' to make its way to L.A., The Daily Trojan, April 8, 2004.
  2. ^ a b Mitch Sherman, NU players, fans excited for GameDay, Omaha World-Herald, September 14, 2007.
  3. ^ http://filebox.vt.edu/users/bkalb/ESPNCollegeGameday/ESPNCollegeGamedayHistory.htm

    http://www.stevesams.com/ESPN.htm ESPN College GameDay Information (compiled with help from ESPN research staff & school SIDs)

  4. ^ a b "ABC SATURDAY NIGHT COLLEGE FOOTBALL TO LAUNCH SEPTEMBER 2". 2006-05-15.
  5. ^ Some fans, particularly in the SEC, were upset when this game was chosen over comparatively higher ranked match-ups of (at the time ranked) #6 LSU at #3 Auburn; #11 Michigan at #2 Notre Dame; and #7 Florida at #13 Tennessee. The choice was notable because ESPN, which runs College GameDay also runs the college sports programming on sister company ABC (both are owned by The Walt Disney Company); of the four games, only the #19 Nebraska at #4 USC game was on ABC while the others were on rival networks CBS and NBC.[1]
  6. ^ "Nittany Lions Fall to No 1. Ohio State".
  7. ^ "Road Trip: Iowa (cont.)". Sports Illustrated. 2006-10-18.
  8. ^ Rece Davis filled in as host; Fowler was assigned to cover the Breeders' Cup horse races that same day, missing his first GameDay broadcast in 16 years.
  9. ^ "College GameDay to open season in Blacksburg". Hokiesports.com. 2007-06-27.
  10. ^ "ESPN's College GameDay to broadcast from Tech-LSU game". hokiesports.com. 2007-09-02. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
  11. ^ "Live from Lincoln . . . ESPN's College GameDay". Huskers.com. 2007-09-09.
  12. ^ http://www.ajc.com/services/content/sports/uga/stories/2007/09/17/0918_gameday.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=21
  13. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/espntv/espnMicrosite?showID=FBCG
  14. ^ "ESPN GameDay to be at LSU/Florida game". The Advocate. 2007-09-30.
  15. ^ "College GameDay Coming to Norman". SoonerSports.com. 2007-10-07.
  16. ^ Dawson, Brett (2007-10-14). "Believe it: Cats knock off No. 1". The Courier Journal. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
  17. ^ "ESPN's College GameDay To Originate from Penn State This Weekend".
  18. ^ "Lee, Kirk and Co. Return for an Encore - GoDucks.com—The University of Oregon Official Athletics Web Site".

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to College GameDay (football).
  • [2] ESPN College GameDay Information (compiled with help from ESPN research staff & school SIDs)

See also


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