Students, fans, and packed public spaces are a staple of ESPN’s College Gameday. College football’s most popular pregame show has benefitted from the energy of live crowds at campuses and stadiums across the country for years. While nothing is set in stone yet regarding the 2020 college football season, The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand reports that ESPN is very aware those fans likely won’t be around this season.
ESPN’s Executive Vice President of Production Stephanie Druley told Marchand that it hasn’t been easy to plan for what the network’s college football presentation will look like in 2020, but a lack of fans would require adjustments for more than just College Gameday.
“That is the one that is harder to think about in terms of not having fans there because they are such an integral part of the environment of the game,” Druley said.
The options discussed for College Gameday aren’t surprising. Marchand reports that naturally, the possibility of doing the pregame show from an ESPN studio has come up. Other scenarios include doing the show from inside a stadium and continuing to travel to college campuses, but toning down the live crowds.
I would hope they at least still travel to the games even if they do the show from an area where no fans are around. This is what game day is all about rolling into town and bringing the biggest tailgate party with it.