
ESPN's College GameDay Pulls Double Duty With Back-to-Back Shows at Auburn on Saturday, South Carolina on Sunday Two teams will be deployed to cover must-see men's and women's games 300 miles apart By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor
Friday, February 14, 2025 - 2:43 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
ESPN's College GameDay, the broadcaster's marquee college-basketball studio show, is accustomed to traveling around the nation to different campuses throughout the season. This weekend, though, will be an entirely new experience: the show will not only highlight must-see matchups in both the men's - No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 2 Alabama - and the women's - No. 7 UConn vs. No. 4 South Carolina - game but do it back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday.
For as many times as College GameDay has been to the University of Alabama for college football, last year was the first visit to Alabama for basketball in the 20-year run of College GameDay going on the road, says Judi Weiss, manager, remote operations, ESPN. Both [men's and women's basketball] shows will broadcast from their [respective] basketball arena.
Writing a Plan: Preseason Talks Bring Vendors, Resources on Board for the Road Ahead Prior to tipoff of the first game, ESPN's remote-operations and production teams formulate a thorough plan for the entire regular season. The planning process typically begins in late October, and an initial conference call or email will notify the crew in early January what the first destination will be. The bulk of this phase is handled by two managers from remote operations and an operations specialist, who sift through the onsite surveys and oversee execution of the plan. In total, they work alongside a team of 39, including an operations producer and the vendor partners. Keeping the production crew on the same page requires constant sharing of ideas, and a back-and-forth dialogue is essential.
The 2025 College GameDay schedule tipped off on the Auburn campus on Jan. 25.
Communication with production colleagues is crucial for synergy heading into the season and throughout, says Weiss. Initially, we'll have biweekly calls with our core team, including crewing, network traffic, IT, finance, production, and operations. As the season gets closer, these meetings transition to a weekly cadence and expand to include sales, marketing, legal, security, safety, PR, and school representatives. This structured approach ensures that everyone has a clear blueprint for how each week's show will come together.
One of the key pieces to the puzzle to get locked down is the mobile units, camera equipment, and other technological needs. In addition, available freelance production and operations staff must be found. With College GameDay starting in late January and the expanded College Football Playoff putting the National Championship on Jan. 20, a tight turnaround made crewing a challenge.
Securing vendors and facilities for the season is a time-intensive process, notes Weiss. Studio events present unique and unpredictable challenges. Executing production's creative vision requires adaptability, creativity, and a full-time commitment. Changes can be made, and last-minute production requests are not an exception but the norm.
Luckily, the necessary gear and infrastructure were secured. Coverage of the men's games relies on Game Creek Video GameDay mobile unit; Illumination Dynamics for lighting; West River Light and Sound for the staging/PA mix; CP Communications for RF audio; the JayBird Jibs jib camera; a Bristol, CT-based Steadicam operation; and a new 7- by 13-ft. Versa Screen by Go Vision for talent talkbacks, deeper analysis, and breakdowns. The women's shows have been using a Live Media Group HD21 Lucie mobile unit, which is the same truck used for SEC Nation during the college-football season; True Grip staging, lighting, and PA mix; Faction Media Steadicam and operator; CP Communications RF audio; and JayBird Jibs jib camera. This week, a new workflow will be introduced: a live interview during the show will deploy a Proto Luma Hologram system.
Two Crews: One for the Men's Game in Tuscaloosa; the Other for the Women's in Columbia As the college-basketball season got underway, ESPN was prepared for seven shows for the men's side and five for the women's side. All things were going as planned, until unexpected winter weather in the Southeast disrupted the scheduled game between LSU and the University of South Carolina in late January.
ESPN announcer Rece Davis (right) speaks with reporter Alyssa Lang on the new 7- by 13-ft. Versa Screen by Go Vision.
The season's first weekend for both shows was not the usual back-to-back, with the women's show from the University of South Carolina in Columbia scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 23 and the men's show from Auburn University on Saturday, Jan. 25, says Weiss. Due to weather in New Orleans, LSU was unable to travel to South Carolina, and College GameDay [was canceled]. Despite the setback, the operations team, vendors, and crew - who were already in the middle of preseason truck setup and inventory - were able to conduct a full facility check and dress rehearsal in preparation for our return show on Saturday.
This weekend's show will be separated by more than 300 miles, requiring the broadcaster to roll with two crews. With the end of the college-football season, the basketball version of College GameDay has received a helping hand from staffers who worked on the college-football version. In addition, the mobile units powering the college-football shows will be dedicated to college basketball for the rest of the season.
The advantage of using the college-football trucks is that they are set up in August to accommodate most of our remote studio broadc
North America Stories
27/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/03/2026
At NAB Show 2026, Net Insight will showcase the next evolution of Nimbra Edge, its orchestration and control layer designed to manage live media services across...
27/03/2026
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced powerful new innovations that further elevate the company's sports streaming solution. The advanced capabilities enh...
27/03/2026
Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced significant new capabilities for Player Web X, its next-generation web video player...
27/03/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Czech-based production company CS live has equipped its newest outside broadcast (OB) van with an integrated Riedel i...
27/03/2026
130 Industry Experts Confirmed as Show Celebrates its 10th Anniversary
MPTS, the UK's largest and most influential event for the media, production and tech...
27/03/2026
Grass Valley today announced the successful completion of a major live production deployment with NVP, a leading European media company specializing in live spo...
27/03/2026
Showcases resilient solutions for satellite-to-IP migration, REMI and hybrid live production
Appear ASA (Appear, OSE:APR), a global leader in live production t...
27/03/2026
San Francisco, California, March 2026 - Microsoft Ignite, a major annual conference hosted by Microsoft for developers, IT professionals, partners and business ...
27/03/2026
Clear-Com is proud to highlight its support for worship teams through professional communication solutions, with the deployment of its EQUIP wireless system a...
27/03/2026
Orban Collaborates with Sage on Virtualized EAS Technology Demo
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
Sage Alerting Systems (SAS), in cooperation wit...
27/03/2026
Berklee Alums Bring GIANT to Broadway Brian and Dayna Lee BM '13 met and fell in love at Berklee, and now their production companys first Broadway debut i...
26/03/2026
Extron and Audio-Technica have announced that their Design Solutions devices, Ce...
26/03/2026
SPORTEL Asia took place March 24-25 at the Orchard Hotel Singapore, drawing 370 participants representing more than 220 companies from 35 countries. Approximate...
26/03/2026
LTN will demonstrate satellite-to-IP migration solutions for broadcasters, cable networks, MVPDs, and station groups at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2100).
The C-Ban...
26/03/2026
The Seattle Mariners have partnered with Daktronics to install an upgraded outfi...
26/03/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) has awarded National Team Partner status to organizations and individuals across more than 100 countries and territories for the Esp...
26/03/2026
Telestream has announced expanded integration between its Vantage workflow platf...
26/03/2026
FOR-A Corporation has announced a partnership with Nippon TV and NVIDIA to distr...
26/03/2026
CBS Sports and the WNBA have expanded their partnership through a new long-term, multiplatform rights agreement. CBS Sports will feature up to 20 regular-season...
26/03/2026
Zac Brown Band will star in the Sunday Night Baseball show open on NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports announced. The open was filmed at American Family Field, home of ...
26/03/2026
Major League Baseball opens the 2026 season with nationally televised games across multiple media partners. Fans can visit MLB.com/Watch for a complete schedule...
26/03/2026
DIRECTV has announced an agreement to carry nine new MLB-operated team channels, covering the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers (Detroit SportsNet), Kansas City R...
26/03/2026
Nationals.TV, the Washington Nationals' local broadcast channel, is now avai...
26/03/2026
Starting Thursday, March 26, MLB.TV will be available on the ESPN App, giving fans access to more than 2,000 out-of-market regular season games. Fans can also r...
26/03/2026
By Matt Klein
Hello to everyone reading this - whether you're a current YEP, HPA member, or just YEP-curious. I'm Matt Klein, one of the co-chairs of t...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
28 participating companies, from start-ups to blue-chips, lead the UK Group as part of the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland presence across all the Halls at N...
26/03/2026
Arkona Unveils BLADE//planner and Major Usability Enhancements at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
New graphical configuration tool and...
26/03/2026
Bitfocus showcases complete control at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
Continuing development drives advances in security, availa...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Nevion introduces powerful new Panel Builder to enhance VideoIPath broadcast con...
26/03/2026
2026 Oscar Nominated Films Powered by Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton March 25, 2026
0 Comments
DaVinci Resolve Studio used on 27 of this year's no...
26/03/2026
Leader to present full suite of advanced Test & Measurement solutions at NAB Sho...
26/03/2026
Boston Conservatory to Present New England and Collegiate Premiere of Groundbrea...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
Have a Wish Worth Dying For? Netflix's First Korean YA Hor...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
The Truthers, Starring Jose Coronado and St phanie Magnin, Pre...
26/03/2026
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
26/03/2026
That gaming backlog won't clear itself - GeForce NOW is here to help. Stream the latest titles straight from the cloud across a variety of devices.
This we...
25/03/2026
Live match directors Sarah Cheadle (Sky Sports), Rob Levi (TNT Sports), and Andrew Swift (BBC Sport) sit down with the Premier League's Rachel Nightingale t...
25/03/2026
The senior from Upstate New York is manning the mic while also interning for the athletic department's sports-information team
In the live-sports-video ind...