ESPN's “College GameDay” will achieve a pair of milestones on its first show of the season.
The venerable college football program will be celebrating its 40th season this year. The Sept. 5 show from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, before Lane Kiffin makes his LSU debut against Clemson will be the 500th show on the road. The announcement was made during ESPN's upfront to advertisers on Tuesday.
The first “College GameDay” show that took place from a campus was Nov. 13, 1993, in South Bend, Indiana, before No. 2 Notre Dame hosted top-ranked Florida State. Since then, the show has visited 82 schools in 39 states, as well as kicking off the 2024 season in Ireland when Florida State took on Georgia Tech.
This will be GameDay's 15th visit to LSU. ESPN also announced that the Sept. 12 show will take place in Austin, Texas, before Ohio State and Texas meet for the third straight season. The first show last season was in Columbus, Ohio, before Ohio State beat Texas 14-7. It was also the final regular appearance for longtime analyst Lee Corso.
“Opening ‘College GameDay’s’ 40th season with our 500th show on the road is one of the moments that helps to put the history of ‘College GameDay’ into perspective. The show has evolved over four decades, but our reason for going on the road hasn’t changed — to share with fans across the country the unparalleled passion and incredible atmospheres that make college football unlike anything else. And to start this season with two marquee matchups, we’ll be able to set the tone for another unforgettable fall,” said Matt Garrett, ESPN's vice president of production.
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