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
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Deepens Partnership with Taiwan's 62nd Golden Hors...
25/11/2025
Tracy Bonareri Onchoke, an investigative journalist from Kenya is the winner of the Thomson Foundation's Young Journalist Award 2025.
The 26-year-old-sele...
25/11/2025
SVG All-Stars: Blayke Scheer, Senior Director, Creative Content, YES NetworkThe Indiana alum has turned storytelling into an artform for more than two decadesBy...
25/11/2025
Op-Ed: With FCC's C-Band Auction on the Horizon, Broadcasters Need Proven, C...
25/11/2025
Analysis: Is Baller League really the future of sport? By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 10:10
Print This Story
With KSI on...
25/11/2025
Platinum Whitepaper: The Growth of Broadcast in the World of Major Large Scale E...
25/11/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: SVG Women's Sports WorkshopBy Samantha Gabay
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 10:27 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlig...
25/11/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: CacheFly's Matt Levine on the Evolving Role of th...
25/11/2025
Peacock's EA SPORTS Madden NFL Cast Levels Up on Thanksgiving With SkyCam as...
25/11/2025
Mathias Broe attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Sauna at Library Center Theatre. (Photo by Michael Hurcomb/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Fes...
25/11/2025
The best playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks bring a little extra magic to your daily routine. With new features and offerings, Spotify Premium delivers even mo...
25/11/2025
Comprehensive new research confirms what we already knew: Australian music fans love the quality, quantity, and access they have to new and local music on strea...
25/11/2025
Applicable Products
Objectives The purpose of this application note is to give a brief background on 5G (NR) wireless communication an explain the reason a SN...
25/11/2025
Nielsen will now measure both Lionsgate's FAST channel MovieSphere and Movie...
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 
