ESPN College GameDay to Kick Off the Season in Blacksburg, Va. September 1

- ESPN College GameDay Features New Fan Interactive Elements
- Season Debut to Feature Two Sets, Live Interview with Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer and Live Coverage of Pre-Game Ceremonies

August 29 , 2007 -- The 2007 season debut of College GameDay Built by The Home Depot Saturday, Sept. 1 at 10 a.m. ET will originate from Blacksburg, Va. for the season-opening East Carolina at Virginia Tech game, televised on ESPN at noon.

College GameDay, entering its 21st season, will be aired every Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon during the college football season. This year will mark the 14th consecutive year College GameDay will consistently originate from the site of one of the day’s best games or most compelling storylines. Each site will generally be announced the Monday before the game.

Chris Fowler will host the program for his 18th season and be joined by analysts Lee Corso, who has been affiliated with the show since its first year, Kirk Herbstreit, who joined in 1996, and Desmond Howard, entering his third year.

College GameDay will debut several new fan interactive elements that will be featured each week throughout the season, including:

Bonus Picks: Fans will have the opportunity to select what game from three or four choices they would like Herbstreit and Corso to pick the winner of via text message to 4ESPN. Herbstreit and Corso will pick the game with the highest fan vote total during the last segment of the show.

Desmond Howard on-line Chat: Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard will conduct a live on-line chat on ESPN.com during the two-hour College GameDay telecast, except during his on-air segments on the set. Select times throughout the show, Howard will tell viewers what fans are chatting about from his on-line position on the College GameDay bus. It will mark the first time in show history an analyst participated in an on-line chat during the live telecast.

America Votes: Throughout the show, fans can vote on newsworthy college football topics on ESPN.com with the results being revealed during the show via a new on-screen graphic.

In addition to the traditional analysis, news and features the show provides each week, the season-opening program will include coverage of the emotional day facing the Virginia Tech community as they return to school following the shooting tragedy last April. Details include:

* Two sets with one directly outside the stadium and a second inside the stadium. The first hour of the program will originate from outside the stadium while Fowler, Herbstreit, Corso and Howard will move to the set inside the stadium for remainder of the show.

* Live coverage of most of the pre-game ceremonies beginning around 11:45 a.m.

* Tom Rinaldi reporting on what the day means to the players, students, survivors of the tragedy and one victim’s family.

* A live interview with Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer on the College GameDay set for his feelings on what the day means to him and what he will say to his team before they take the field.

* Reporter Shelley Smith will look at USC quarterback John David Booty’s off-season conditioning to prepare for the season following a back injury that plagued him last year.

* Reporter Wendi Nix goes one-on-one with new Alabama coach Nick Saban as he discusses his decision to return to the college game and on one of the sport’s most hallowed campuses.

* A feature by Shelley Smith on how defending National Champion Florida focused on becoming a faster team than last year.

* New Miami coach Randy Shannon wired for an up close look at his efforts to restore glory back to the “U.”

The 2006 season was the most-viewed and highest-rated season ever for College GameDay, averaging 1,565,000 households and a 1.7 rating for increases of 8% (vs. 1,438,000) and 6% (vs. 1.6), respectively, over 2005 (the previous most-viewed and highest-rated season). In addition, last year’s show from Columbus, Ohio (for Michigan at Ohio State), averaged 1,913,000 households (based on a 2.1 rating), making it the most-viewed Saturday morning edition of the program. It surpassed the previous high of 1,861,000 households (on a 2.1 rating) set October 8, 2005 for a show from State College, Pa. (Ohio State at Penn State).

Source: ESPN

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