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College Gameday (football)




  Runtime 2 hours
  Starring Chris Fowler , Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit
  Network ESPN (1987-)
  First Aired 1987
  Last Aired 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'' will begin its 21st season on September 1 , 2007 . The show will again air live for 2 hours, from 10am-noon ET. The 21st season premiere of ''GameDay'' will originate from Blacksburg, Virginia , where Virginia Tech will host East Carolina . That game will also be broadcast on ESPN at noon ET, immediately following ''GameDay''.


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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 Cheerleader s and Mascot s 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 .

.]]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 Saturday Night College 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 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.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, [http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/storage/paper679/news/2004/04/08/Sports/What-Time.Is.It.Time.For.college.Gameday.To.Make.Its.Way.To.L.a-654886.shtml What time is it? Time for 'College GameDay' to make its way to L.A.], ''The Daily Trojan'', April 8, 2004. 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 September 8th, 2001 where 15,808 packed Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, NE.

On November 4 , 2006 , 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 .


20 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 November 13 , 1993 , ''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 August 31 , 1996 , 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 October 5 , 1996 , 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.



LOCATIONSHTTP://FILEBOX.VT.EDU/USERS/BKALB/ESPNCOLLEGEGAMEDAY/ESPNCOLLEGEGAMEDAYHISTORY.HTM<P>HTTP://WWW.STEVESAMS.COM/ESPN.HTM ESPN COLLEGE GAMEDAY INFORMATION (COMPILED WITH HELP FROM ESPN RESEARCH STAFF & SCHOOL SIDS)


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 2007 season) 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 (24). Florida State (21) is currently second.


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