Rocky Top Rolls Out The Checkerboards For
Week 4: How To Prepare
Rocky Top is rolling out the checkerboards for a massive Week 4 matchup as ESPN College GameDay takes over Knoxville ahead of No. 1 Texas vs. No. 14 Tennessee. From GameDay at Ayres Hall to the noon ABC kickoff inside Neyland Stadium, here’s everything Tennessee fans need to know about Saturday’s schedule, parking, security, pit access, and ESPN programming.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Knoxville has a playoff-style atmosphere, and it’s only Thursday. ESPN trucks arrived on Wednesday, and the full weight of its college football machine is coming to Rocky Top this weekend. “College GameDay” and a stacked lineup of studio programming are set up around Saturday’s marquee SEC opener between Texas and Tennessee. It will be the 13th time GameDay has broadcast from Knoxville, and the show will need most of Saturday morning to do it justice.
The GameDay crew will operate for two hours on the lawn of Ayres Hall starting at 9 a.m., then for another hour on the field inside Neyland before ABC’s noon kickoff.
Rece Davis heads into his 12th season as the show’s host, working alongside analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and Nick Saban. Reporters Pete Thamel, Jen Lada, Jess Sims and “Stanford Steve” Coughlin round out the crew.
McAfee’s “Kicking Is Easy” fan contest is back for a fourth season, and correspondent Marty Smith is set to air a feature on Tennessee linebacker Edwin Spillman, who immigrated to the United States from Sierra Leone with his brothers.
Once GameDay wraps, Herbstreit shifts to the broadcast booth to call the game itself alongside Chris Fowler and Holly Rowe on ABC.
What Fans Need To Know Before Saturday
First, make sure you can be cleared through Secret Service security and screening. Please review the list of prohibited items in advance
Next, make sure you study the traffic patterns and game-day parking info around town:
Oh – and don’t forget to have on the accurate game day color for Checker Neyland when you arrive. The gates open at 9 am. It is advised to arrive as early as possible to navigate the crowd and security.
Now, For The ESPN Information.
- Getting into the pit for GameDay is first-come, first-served starting at 6:30 a.m., and students are asked to wear school colors and their numbered wristbands. There is no camping allowed. Arrive only to participate. The Hill will open at 5 a.m. followed by the pit at Ayres Hall at 6:30 a.m.How do you get selected to stand in the pit during the live broadcast? Students and fans have the opportunity for up-close view of the show by standing in the pit immediately adjacent to the stage first come and first served.
- ESPN security will screen everyone entering, and the list of banned items is long: no bags of any kind, no food or drinks, no pens, pencils, markers or dry-erase boards, and no signs mounted on sticks. Throwing anything in the pit is strictly forbidden.
- Sign-making, one of GameDay’s enduring traditions, still comes with rules. ESPN prohibits vulgar signs along with any bearing web addresses, political messages or religious messages, and every sign brought to the taping will be inspected before fans reach the pit.
- Fans hoping to take a swing at McAfee’s kicking contest should bring a physical ID it’s required to participate.Students admitted to the pit are encouraged to wear school colors and should have a numbered wristband.Participants are subject to ESPN security procedures and policies.
Programming Builds Throughout The Weekend
ESPN’s presence in Knoxville starts a full day early. “The Pat McAfee Show” broadcasts from inside a fan-free Neyland Stadium Friday from noon to 3 p.m., though only the first two hours air on ESPN and the final hour shifts to McAfee’s YouTube channel.
Ayres Hall will then take over as the hub for the afternoon, hosting “Bussin’ & Pate On-Campus” with Josh Pate, Taylor Lewan and Will Compton from 2-3 p.m., followed by “College Football Live” from 3:30-4 p.m.
“Countdown to GameDay,” ESPN’s pregame digital show, streams at 8:20 a.m. on YouTube, Facebook and the ESPN App, with Harry Douglas and Harry Lyles Jr. joined this week by new co-host Jess Sims reporting from the field.
ESPN/ABC Programming
| Campus | |
| Friday, Sept. 25 | 12-2 p.m. – The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN inside Neyland Stadium (closed) |
| Friday, Sept. 25 | 2-3 p.m. – Bussin’ & Pate On Campus on |
| ESPN from Ayres Hall | |
| Friday, Sept. 25 | 3:30-4 p.m. – College Football Live on ESPN from Ayres Hall |
| ESPN from Ayres Hall | |
| Saturday, Sept. 26 | 5 a.m. – The Hill opens (no overnight camping) |
| Saturday, Sept. 26 | 6:30 a.m. – The Pit opens |
| Saturday, Sept. 26 | 8:20 a.m. – Countdown To College GameDay live on ESPN CFB YouTube |
| Saturday, Sept. 26 | 9-11 a.m. – ESPN College GameDay live from Ayres Hall |
| Saturday, Sept. 26 | 11 a.m.- noon – ESPN College GameDay live from inside Neyland Stadium |
| Saturday, Sept. 26 | noon – ABC broadcast: #1/1 Texas at #14/13 Tennessee |
