ESPN has locked in its newest Friday show. Bussin’ & Pate on Campus debuts September 4 at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
What We Know: ESPN confirmed Bussin’ & Pate on Campus Thursday, weeks reports surfaced the the two podcasts would be merging for a show on ESPN. The debut airs September 4 from Baton Rouge for Clemson-LSU on ESPN2. Week two follows September 11 in Ann Arbor for Oklahoma-Michigan on ESPN. Pate and Bussin’ With The Boys hosts Compton and Lewan both appeared across ESPN’s daytime lineup last season.
What They Said: Josh Pate on discussions with ESPN about more ways to collaborate this college football season (via Barrett Media – March, 2026): “Everyone sat down around the camp fire and realized we all love this. We all want more of it. Let’s work it out, and we’re in the process of doing that right now. Those are the people that I want to be in business with for a long time. You cross your fingers that they feel the same about you. But we talked about a lot of exciting concepts and ideas that are still up in the air right now. I strongly believe we’ll get something worked out for the upcoming season.”
What Remains Unclear: Whether Friday broadcasts will regularly share College GameDay’s location is still unresolved. A full schedule is unkown.
What It Means: This new venture for ESPN is different than the ones previously seen by the network. Instead of inserting independent talent into network studio programs, this is a network building a show surrounding independent talent. A far cry from a licensing deal that the network has used in the past. However, the play couldn’t be better. The talents identified are top talents for college football fans. For Pate, it’s another expansion beyond On3 and Yahoo Sports. For Bussin’, it’s further proof their post-Barstool rise keeps compounding, following a recent NASCAR show launch too.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.