ESPN's College GameDay Urged To Make Changes To 2026 Shows
ESPN's college football pregame show, "College GameDay," remains one of the biggest shows on the network - and sports TV in general.
The three-hour pregame show, hosted by Rece Davis and starring Kirk Herbstreit, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban and Desmond Howard, heads to a different college campus each week of the season. The show heads to a lot of big schools, but it also tries to spread out the love when it can.
However, as we head into the 2026 season, we already know the first two locations (and everyone seems to know where it's headed for Week 3, too) and it's sparked some people urging for changes this fall.
ESPN's college football pregame show has already confirmed its first two stops of the 2026 regular season:
- Week 1: Baton Rouge for LSU vs. Clemson
- Week 2: Austin for Texas vs. Ohio State
And everyone seems to know that the college football pregame show will be heading to Ole Miss in Week 3, for the showdown between the Rebels and their former head coach, Lane Kiffin.
That's three straight SEC destinations to open the 2026 season.
Fans urging College GameDay to not be SEC-heavy in 2026
College football fans can understand why "College GameDay" is heading to all three of those locations. But three straight SEC campuses is still a lot.
Fans are urging the college football pregame show to spread out the love more in 2026.
"Pick a different conference for week 3. Nobody wants a 3 hour long CAA Lane glazing in Oxford," one fan urged.
"Please stop with the constant SEC love," one added.
"Go to some different places, please. The SEC love fest gets old," one fan added on social media.
"Announcing this in May just feels so wrong and I wish they wouldn't," another fan wrote.
ESPN has a huge TV deal with the SEC and it's no surprise that the network will prioritize love for the conference when it can, just like FOX does with the Big Ten.
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This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 8:32 AM.