ESPN College GameDay: How a Pregame Show Became an Institution

ESPN College GameDay has become one of the great traditions in college football, both for television viewers and fans at the game. So how did this little pregame show become the institution that so many turn to on football Saturdays?

If you’re a college football fan, chances are at some point you’ve tuned into a broadcast of College GameDay on ESPN. Whether it was to check the spreads, see fan signs, ogle Erin Andrews (for a time) or Samantha Ponder, or see which piece of headgear Lee Corso would don, there is a reason for most anyone to check out the show.

The little Bristol, Ct. 90-minute studio pregame show that started in 1987 has now grown into a three-hour event and two-day party at every campus upon which they pitch their tents and stages.

Heading into the 2015 season, the show will have a new host, Rece Davis, but will continue on with the traditions that have made it a part of the Saturday routines for college football fans. Recently the cast and crew of the ESPN staple were part of a panel at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Ga. to talk about the evolution of the show, and what’s in store for fans.

Don’t worry folks, Lee Corso and the headgear segment aren’t going anywhere…at least not this year.

The idea behind College GameDay was just a simple pregame show to inform fans of news pertaining to the day’s upcoming contests. Like most early versions of these types of shows, it was simple, cut and dry, and not very entertaining.

The talent was there – with host Tim Brando and analysts Lee Corso and Beano Cook – but there was little that could be done in the confines of a sterile studio to make things more interesting.

That all changed in 1993, when the decision was made to take the show on the road. The first stop – South Bend, In., to see the No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the No. 1 Florida State Seminoles. This was live television, and it was a radical change from what had been seen before.

“The first time we ever took the show from the studio…my gosh the reaction was fantastic,” said Corso. “And I think that has been the secret of ESPN’s College GameDay. We’re at the site of the game and the enthusiasm of the crowd is great, but they never know what’s going to happen because it’s live television. So it’s really become an event. Not a show, but an event.”

“Going on the road leads to a lot of unscripted moments happening,” added senior coordinating producer Lee Fitting. “If we’re in a studio, a lot of that stuff that happens on GameDay wouldn’t happen.

“We like to say there’s no rules on GameDay, we just sort of let it happen, and that’s part of the beauty of the show.”

Telling the Stories, Not Just Xs and Os

What makes GameDay so different from other shows…even the copycats. Lee Corso summed it up nicely.

“We’re in the entertainment business, and college football is our vehicle, We make ’em cry, we make ’em laugh, we make ’em happy. People want to watch the show because it’s entertaining. If we get away from that, we’re not gonna make a show.”

That’s not to say that there isn’t some serious game breakdown going on. Analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack see to it that there are plenty of Xs and Os happening on the show. And there’s the fan angles and player interviews, generally handled by contributor Samantha Ponder.

But that’s only part of what goes on, the rest is telling stories, whether it be about individual players, coaches, or entire programs that have something poignant to be shared.

And those stories are what draw the GameDay crew to a particular campus. Games dynamics and rivalries are important, but in the end a story that needs to be told is why ESPN chooses a particular location.

And how are these stops decided? “We go week by week,” said Fitting. “That’s part of what makes it so special.

“People ask us all the time, how do we select our sites, and it’s week by week, and oftentimes the decision comes late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. We want all the games to play out, and then we decide what’s the best story of the week.”

Best game or best story?

“We’re careful not to say the best game of the week,” Fitting told me. “There are times when the best game of the week is not necessarily the best story of the week.”

Those stories oftentimes have to do with the rivalries involved, and none was more true to that narrative than College GameDay’s first visit to the Army-Navy game in 2014.

“Last year was our first trip to Baltimore to see arguably the greatest rivalry in sports,” Fitting said. “We were a very small part of that rivalry last year, and to be a part of it was unbelievable. It was my greatest moment as being part of the show”

Corso added, “The one game you should see before you die is Army-Navy. There’s nothing like going in at ten o’clock and watching the brigade and the midshipmen march in, and the goat, and the mule, and then maybe the President, and then the game.

“When that game is over, it’s the only game in football where the losing team and the winning team get together and sing the song of the loser and then come over and sing the song of the winner. It’s the greatest spectacle.”

And the crew has other recommendations for fans who want to take in an incredible experience for a game. Rece Davis, who will be attending his first Army-Navy game as the show’s new host this year, made a few suggestions.

“There’s so many places, I hate to choose just one. But I think anywhere that it’s sort of part of the culture and the fabric of the place,” said Davis. “Texas A&M, I think is a great place to see a game. I think one of the more underrated venues to see a game is Oregon…that’s a spectacular atmosphere, a really loud stadium, fans are right on top of the field. I think that’s one of my favorite places.”

I asked Lee Corso about some of his favorite fan and student body traditions and places to visit, and he seemed in agreement with his colleague.

“I really love going to Oregon,” Corso beamed. “The show is at six o’clock in the morning, and the people are there all night. And then that duck! He’s my favorite. He’s the San Diego Chicken of college football.”

Regardless of where the show lands (and according to Fitting, they’ll be finishing the season at the Army-Navy game once again), the stories that unfold, sometimes unscripted and right before our collective eyes, are always told best by this crew.

And the fans. How do the fans tell their stories? Look for a sign…

Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign

Undoubtedly one of the more interesting (and sometimes embarrassing) parts of the show are the signs that fans bring with them, turning inside jokes into national hashtags at times, and bringing that unexpected live TV quality to the show.

When did this tradition of sign waving begin? According to an ESPN film, it goes back to the early days of the show being on the road, when in 1994, a lone unnamed fan carried an illegible sign across camera view during the show’s third ever road show in Nebraska.

"“We don’t know who he is. We don’t know what his sign says. But oh, what he created” -"

ESPN

The College GameDay crowds have turned that single fan’s early version of a video-bomb into a tradition like no other. There is no topic off limits and no joke too inside for fans to turn it into a sign that they eagerly wave in front of the ESPN cameras.

“The way [fans] express themselves individually is through the signs,” said former host Chris Fowler. “People ask me what kind of social media do you have on GameDay and I say we’ve had it for years. The signs. Fans expressing their thoughts over a medium.”

Early on the signs were game-related, predictably cheering for or vehemently bashing one team or the other. But in 1999, that all changed when a single player became the target of fans and their signs at a College GameDay Location.

“I think one of the milestone moments for signage was the explosion of signs that came out poking fun at Peter Warrick, the ex-Florida State wide receiver, who had been implicated in shoplifting at Dillards,” chucked Fowler in the film. “Gator fans surpassed themselves. It was a field day behind us.”

Now fans bring signs that speak to hot-button news items about players or schools, little known facts, things to antagonize opposing fans, and just plain silliness. Case in point…”I’m Asian”

The “I’m Asian” signholder made numerous appearances at GameDay locations, and even had imitators and nods from other ethnicities, such as the “I’m Caucasian” sign-bearer. Signs have taken on a life of their own, and seemingly outnumber the fans in certain camera shots.

Jorts, corn dogs, eating grass, the girth of a certain coach…all things that have found their way into the vast cavalcade of College GameDay signs. Even marriage proposals (she said yes, and they now have a baby named Espin) have found their way into the rogue’s gallery of famous signs. Corso told the story of one of his favorites.

“I’ve been on the show a long time, and these guys are good looking, and the signs always say ‘Kirk will you marry me?’ and ‘Desmond I love you’. Me? Nothing!

“So about two years ago, I’m looking up, there’s a 98-year-old woman with grey hair. The sign said ‘Grannies for Corso’, and I said you’re looking at an AARP sex-symbol right here.”

But not all signs make the cut. Even the “no rules on GameDay” mantra has its limits when it comes to the signs. Signs that are deemed too offensive (or controversial) for television are removed on a regular basis according to Fitting.

“If you want a real kick then come out to GameDay and after the show you go to the back where all the students hang out, and there’s a huge pile of signs that we didn’t allow in the pit. We have people out in the audience policing the signs and someone in the truck looking at all the different cameras.”

So bring your signs, America. College GameDay will give you your 15 minutes of fame, and you can die a happy fan.

Keep Your Head About You, and Your Pencils Ready

Pencils and headgear. You know who I’m talking about.

Lee Corso.

The coach.

Corso, who turns 80 this month, is the only remaining member of the original College GameDay cast and has become a favorite of fans, co-hosts, and even the various celebrity guest pickers. Corso not only brings the background of a great college coach to the show, but he also adds a lot of levity to the show when Herbstreit, Pollack and Howard try to become too technical.

His two signature items – the “not so fast my friend” pencil wave, and of course, the headgear pick as the show closes out each week.

The pencil? Well, Corso has his theories on that (as he pointed and waved his genetically-attached no. 2 pencil at the crowd).

“I worked seventeen years as director of business development (waves pencil), and that’s worth a million dollars a week,” Corso said. “You get that pencil out there and boy I tell you, we get a great reaction. That’s why I do that.”

But the biggest draw for Corso and the show has become one of the most anticipated 40 seconds in sports outside the finish of the Kentucky Derby.

Who among us doesn’t make sure they’ve finished their bathroom break or tailgate preparations before coach Corso charges up or infuriates the dense crowd behind him when by putting on the mascot headgear of the team he picks to win the game.

The headgear pick isn’t just for show either, despite its overt silliness. Corso has a 75 percent record of picking the right team, and he’s only gotten better with age, going 51-29 in his first 80 picks, and then 56-24 in his last 80 picks.

But as he like to joke, “the head is not the spread”.

And it all started in 1996, when Corso thought it would be a funny idea (after intense negotiations with the Ohio State cheerleading squad) to put on the Brutus Buckeye head at the end of the show and predict that Ohio State would beat Penn State. After the electric reaction by fans and ESPN, Corso said, “I think I’ve got a schtick here.”

A legend was born that October.

Courtesy ESPN

Since that 1996 game, Corso has put on the headgear for his pick 256 more times, and the process has become even more involved and secretive than you could even imagine. Nobody other than Corso (not even the producers) know who his pick will be until mid-week, when he has one of the staff members contact the school he’s picking to secure the needed costuming.

The only hint anyone else might have is the school who isn’t being picked that hasn’t received that call, and begins to wonder if Corso is dogging them.

Even the runners who slyly bring the headgear to the set have become something of a celebrity status, as in last year’s national championship game show, when Texas billionaire Ed Bass was the chosen keeper of the headgear leading into the segment, causing host Rece Davis to say, “Lee Corso is such a big deal in college football, that his runners are worth two billion dollars.”

But not every school takes so kindly to Corso wanting to wear the costumed mascot head. There is one school where College GameDay has visited that has never allowed him to put on the head.

You’ve never seen Lee Corso dressed as Auburn’s Aubie the Tiger.

“Auburn is the only school in America where they won’t let me put on the headgear,” Corso said. “They have some kind of rule where you gotta be a special human being to wear it.

“So I’m not picking them.”

Better get on that rulebook, Auburn.

Traditions and the Future of College GameDay

Like any ongoing part of popular culture, tradition is important, but staying with the status quo can be suicide. This is what makes College GameDay special, their ability to tweak and transform the show so that the content doesn’t become stale for audiences, while retaining the traditions that fans tune in to see.

The biggest change for 2015 will be the host, with Rece Davis taking over for longtime host Chris Fowler. A veteran of ESPN and the college football broadcasts and shows on the network, Davis was a natural pick to join the show, and already seems to have a solid rapport with those who will be flanking him on Saturday mornings.

“Very little is as rewarding in television as when you have a group who trusts and likes each other, and wants to put on the very best show possible,” said Davis of his colleagues. “Lee [Fitting] says the show comes first, and that’s when the best television is made, and what we’re going to strive to continue to do.”

Oct 1, 2016; Clemson, SC, USA; Clemson Tigers mascot interacts with Lee Corso during the ESPN College Gameday broadcast on Bowman Field prior to the game against the Louisville Cardinals. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

“There is no recipe,” said Fitting. “If there were I’d sell it.

“It’s a special family with a shared goal, and that’s to serve the college football family first and foremost. Often times in TV and in sports TV, a lot of people in front of the camera put themselves first, and no one here on GameDay does that.”

And the mutual admiration doesn’t just go downhill, the cast of the show is just as enamored with their producer.

“I’ve been with this show a lot of years,” stated Corso. “We never won an Emmy until [Fitting] joined the show. We’ve now won five Emmys since he joined us.”

And the traditions? Oh they’re here to stay. You’ll still see the A-List celebrity guest pickers (although the overly-spontaneous Bill Murray may not be invited back), the hottest musical acts performing theme songs, and (of course) the headgear pick. The show has evolved and taken its on personae, and the cast and crew of College GameDay will continue to pump new blood into it and keep the institution alive.

There are imitators, and some good ones, out there. Even ESPN’s own SEC Network has a traveling pregame show.

But the original is still king, and still riding a wave of success that never seems to dry up.