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ESPN College Football GameDay comes to town for the BYU-Notre Dame football game, returning to Provo for the first time since 2009.

Courtesy BYU Athletics

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ESPN College Game Day host Chris Fowler, center, reacts as former BYU coach LaVell Edwards, left, dons the cougar mascot head in response to ESPN analyst Lee Corso's choice of TCU to win the game during a live broadcast of the show in Provo Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald

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ESPN senior writer Ivan Maisel, left, and BYU associated athletic director Duff Tittle participate in a TV show highlighting BYU's history in the 150 years of college football.

Phillip Morgan, Daily Herald

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ESPN's College Gameday truck sits parked in the parking lot of LaVell Edwards in Provo in preparation for Saturday's game against TCU in Provo on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009 JAMES ROH/Daily Herald

JAMES ROH

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The first time ESPN College GameDay came to Provo in 2009, the network brought three semi-trucks packed with gear required for the broadcast.

This week, with the show returning to the campus for Saturday’s epic BYU-Notre Dame clash, ESPN brought eight trucks.

This is serious business.

Duff Tittle has held various titles throughout his career in the Cougars’ athletic department — he’s been Senior Assistant Athletic Director for Broadcast Relations since 2023 — but he was essentially a one-man band when ESPN GameDay came calling 17 years ago.

“We didn’t have a social media team back then and we had just started video services,” Tittle recalled. “Our staff was so small and we had to manage the majority of what ESPN wanted from us.”

The BYU staff has grown over the years and now Tittle can hand off most of what he normally does during a game week to Brett Pyne (Associate Athletic Director for Football Strategic Communications) and Kenny Cox (Assistant Athletic Director for Football Media Relations & Communications) so he can focus on running point for  ESPN.

“I have to manage a completely separate production group and crew that are coming in,” Tittle said. “They give us advance notice about what their needs are and what technology they are bringing. We’ve hosted two of the FOX shows (Big Noon Kickoff) and that has helped us. There are requests coming in for people on campus and getting approvals for everything.”

In anticipation of the needs of network crews, Tittle said BYU has been proactive in pulling technology to different areas of campus so it is in place for just such an occasion as ESPN College GameDay coming in.

“Before if someone came to town we had to pull cable all over,” he said. “Now the trucks pull in and they can connect to the stadium, run their halftime show, whatever they need.”

Tittle also credits people such as Anna Metcalf (Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing & Fan Experience) and Matt Nix (Associate Athletic Director, Events & Facilities) for stepping up to help him facilitate GameDay’s needs.

It takes a village to host one of the most popular analysis shows on the air. According to Yahoo Sports, GameDay is averaging 2.83 million viewers per episode this season, a 6% increase over a record-setting 2025.

The ESPN crew shows up up Thursday with the trucks and starts building the set. In years past the parking lot west of LaVell Edwards Stadium was used but this year the show is moving to the front lawn of Heritage Halls, providing a breathtaking view of the Wasatch Front.

Tittle said Friday is a prep day when he meets with the ESPN producer and the director as well as the talent. The staff goes through what is called a “car wash,” which includes time spent with the team’s offensive and defensive coordinators as well as several student athletes.

The show usually does a few live shots on Friday before opening up the big show at 7 a.m. Saturday morning.

That’s when the craziness begins.

ESPN College GameDay (branded as “ESPN College GameDay built by Home Depot” for sponsorship purposes) began in 1987 with host Tim Brando and commentators Lee Corso and Beano Cook. The show went through big changes in 1993 and started to regularly travel to campuses around the country.

Corso and his mascot headgear schtick (He would pick a winner and don the team’s mascot head) began in 1996. Corso — now 91 years old — made his final headgear pick and retired from the show on August 30, 2025. The longest-tenured member of the program now is former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, who joined the cast in 1996.

Current cast members include host Rece Davis, Herbstreit, former Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard, former NFL punter Pat McAfee and and former Alabama coach Nick Saban.

The show manufactures a festive tailgate party atmosphere and thousands of fans flock to stand behind the set, most holding team flags and homemade signs. As of Wednesday, BYU students were already camping out to claim the closest spots to the stage.

It’s an eclectic three hours of television, to be sure. A large Washington State flag has been present at 320 consecutive GameDay broadcasts since 2003, regardless of the venue. The team’s cheerleaders and mascots join in the festivities. The crowd often starts chants associated with their team or boos can rain down on any commentator who dares say anything negative.

One of the most popular segments of the broadcast comes at the end of the show, where each member of the panel picks the winner of the feature game. Joining in on the fun is a guest picker, usually someone associated with the home team.

In 2009, it was BYU coaching legend LaVell Edwards (he retired after the 2000 season). On Saturday, it will be former Cougar and NFL quarterback Steve Young. Guest pickers at previous shows have included professional athletes such as Charles Barkley, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Bubba Watson, actors such as Keegan Michael-Key, Timothy Chalamet, Morgan Freeman and Duane “The Rock” Johnson, musicians such as Kenny Chesney and Katy Perry, professional wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin and even the Oregon Duck mascot.

Tittle has been the liaison with ESPN since 1999.

“They always have treated us like we’re an important partner in the process,” he said. “They have been amazing. When they roll into town a lot has to happen in a short period of time and they are so gracious. That makes it easy. It’s quite the experience for someone in my field to have College GameDay here. It’s a dream to be able to be involved in it. It’s a lot of work, but ultimately it’s worth it at the end of the week to see it all come together.”