Kirk Kirk Herbstreit’s journey from college quarterback to one of the most trusted figures in sports media is built on insight. He was a former on-field leader at Ohio State before making a successful transition into broadcasting and became a cornerstone analyst on ESPN’s College GameDay, where he provides detailed analysis and a thoughtful perspective on college football. He has been with the program since 1996.
Kirk Herbstreit Reveals the Circumstances That Could Push Him Out at ESPN College GameDay
Herbstreit appeared on “The Inner Circle” podcast on Wednesday and voiced frustration with what he sees as the modern direction of sports media coverage.
“Then I watch some of these shows on various networks, especially the NFL shows, and it drives me crazy where our industry has gone,” Herbstreit said (8:45). “Because I feel like politics are obviously this way too, but it’s a lot of clickbait. It’s a lot like really loud comments that maybe will go viral. I might not believe in it, but it’s going to go viral, and people are going to know who I am.
“Man, I will quit before I ever do that. Like, if that’s what it takes to make it, I would never do this. Like, I’d rather have some fun, play around. But I will never undress people. I will never like to just say crazy, outrageous things. But that’s where our industry has gone. And I don’t know if you guys have felt that, you know, maybe in the last eight years.”
Herbstreit pointed to the debate-show model popularized by Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take. He said that it spread throughout the industry and created an environment where viral moments and volume often overshadow substance and insight.
For his TV work, Herbstreit has won five Sports Emmy Awards in various categories. He remains a fixture on ESPN’s College GameDay each Saturday during the college football season alongside Rece Davis, Pat McAfee, Desmond Howard, and Nick Saban.
While criticizing the broader trend in sports television, the ESPN personality said that GameDay operates differently.
“On GameDay, we don’t do that,” Herbstreit said (10:10). “Again, Pat is crazy and fun, but we make it about the players, we make it about the coaches, and we make it about the storylines. We really don’t make it about us. And the reason I’ll tell y’all that is if it ever changed, I would be so fast gone out of studio television. But I’m lucky. I kind of live on an island where we’re allowed to still talk ball and still just have fun talking about ball.”
Herbstreit has served as the lead analyst for every College Football Playoff National Championship game since the format’s inception.
