USC Gamecocks Football

Here’s where ESPN will set up ‘College GameDay’ TV show ahead of South Carolina-LSU

ESPN’s “College GameDay” TV show will set up shop at the University of South Carolina’s Gamecock Park when it comes to Columbia on Saturday.

It’s the first time since 2014 that ESPN’s popular pre-game TV show will air at USC. “College GameDay” begins at 9 a.m. Saturday and lasts for three hours. The Gamecocks and LSU will kick off at noon.

Gamecock Park is located next to Williams-Brice Stadium and is one of the program’s most popular tailgating areas.

It will be the seventh time the Gamecocks have been on the show and the first time the show will broadcast from the state’s capital city since 2014 when then 13th-ranked South Carolina faced Missouri. (Missouri won that game 21-20.) South Carolina was featured on the show last year before the Gamecocks’ opener against North Carolina in Charlotte.

Gamecock Park, the Fairgrounds and USC’s on-campus Horseshoe were the likely top three choices to host “College GameDay.”

The pit area that’s closest to the ESPN stage typically opens at 6:30 a.m. and is filled on a first-come, first served basis.

The show features Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit, Pat McAfee and former Alabama coach Nick Saban. The show also has a to-be-announced celebrity picker for its final segment.

“We’ll see ALL of #GamecockNation along w @CollegeGameDay next Saturday in Columbia,” USC coach Shane Beamer posted to X/Twitter.

The 2014 “GameDay” appearance was held on the Horseshoe, while the SEC Network’s “SEC Nation” preview show most often sets up at Gamecock Park.

This story was originally published September 8, 2024 at 4:01 PM.

Dwayne McLemore
The State
Director of Sports at The State in Columbia, South Carolina. A University of South Carolina Class of 1997 graduate who joined The State in October 2007. I’m part of the APSE award-winning Sports staff that includes our work on the South Carolina Gamecocks and Clemson Tigers. Previously worked for The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News and Gaston (North Carolina) Gazette.
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