ESPN announces 2012 lineup for ‘College GameDay’

Tim Gardner

USA TODAY

23 August 2011

This article is updating the public that ESPN has announced their 2011 lineup for College GameDay, and that there is some controversy about their choices.  The controversy is not necessarily regarding the locations that were chosen, but rather those that were not chosen. Among the schools that will be broadcasted on College GameDay are Tennessee, Purdue, Kansas, Florida, Villanova, Michigan State, Virginia Tech, and Texas.  This means that ESPN will not only cover the actual game, but the entire day on the campus itself.  Cameras highlight over-the-top fans and just soak up the energy of basketball fans at campuses across the country.

The notable few that were left out are Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium and Kentucky’s Rupp Arena.  Cameron Indoor is famous in college basketball as the home of the Cameron Crazies (Duke’s extremely enthusiastic and involved fans).  USA Today stated, “A Duke game in Cameron is the toughest road game in America.”  Many cannot understand why such a legendary location for college basketball would not make the cut for coverage on College GameDay.

Kentucky’s Rupp Arena, which seats approximately 23,000, is also a famous location for college basketball and fans.  The fans fill the arena for every home game, and the energy there is undeniable.  Although many of the locations that were chosen for College GameDay coverage are interesting and exciting to watch, it is a mystery as to why these top two venues were not selected.

The news covered in this article affects not only the universities chosen, but also it’s players and coaches.  The universities that have been chosen as destinations for College GameDay coverage will be receiving a lot of media that could portray their school in a very good manner if their arena is full of energy.  However, it could potentially put more stress on the coaches and players because they are under even more pressure to perform well.

The conferences of the schools selected are also affected. These conferences (the SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big 12, and the Big East) have the chance to show other conferences, as well as sports fans across the country, how spirited and supportive the fans are of the schools in their conference.

A main point that the author of the article left out is how exactly ESPN goes about choosing which schools will be covered for College GameDay.  This could possibly be because the selection process is not common knowledge, or because he felt that the information was unnecessary to the point of the article.