Kirk Herbstreit’s college football warning raises tough questions as ESPN’s College GameDay veteran enters 30th season
Herbstreit said the sport has changed more in the last three or four years than it did in the previous 100, and he believes a lack of clear leadership has made things harder to follow. Herbstreit joined ESPN in 1995 and tried out for College GameDay a year later. He was only 26 when he got the role, even though he did not expect to get it.
Looking back, he told PEOPLE, “I stumbled into getting this opportunity at ESPN.” Kirk Herbstreit is entering his 30th season with ESPN’s College GameDay , but the veteran commentator is not happy with the direction college football has taken. In a new interview with PEOPLE, the former Ohio State quarterback spoke about the major changes he has seen during his three decades on the show.
“I mean, really in the last three or four years, I think we’ve seen more change than the previous hundred years—and not always for the better,” Herbstreit said. “We have these district judges all over the country making unbelievable rulings that make no sense, and there’s no one there to stop them,” Herbstreit said. “You go out to these games and the stadiums are full, the marching bands come out, the student sections are full,” he said. The interest in the sport has never been bigger,” Herbstreit said. “I’m hopeful that we get some direction here in the next year or two to try to make some sense of where we are.”
Three decades later, Herbstreit has watched college football change in ways he never expected. The growth of the transfer portal, player rights, government involvement and court decisions has created a very different sport from the one he knew when he started. “It’s been frustrating at times to watch. “The players went from having absolutely no say to now all the say. And that doesn’t make any sense to me either. “The ratings have never been higher.
“Here come the teams and their uniforms, and it’s still an incredible celebration on Saturday.