ESPN’s College Gameday in Town for the Indiana-Minnesota Football Game ESPN’s College GameDay will originate from Bloomington, Indiana, as No. 4 Indiana prepares to host Minnesota in a marquee Big Ten clash. The show airs live from Showalter Fountain at Indiana University this morning from 9 a.m.-noon ET on ESPN, ESPNU, Disney+ and the ESPN App. Today marks Indiana’s third time hosting College GameDay and the second under head coach Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers’ ninth overall appearance on the program. Indiana has won each of its last four GameDay appearances. Minnesota makes its third appearance on the show, all under head coach P.J. Fleck. Rece Davis returns as host and is joined at the desk by analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and Nick Saban. College football insider Pete Thamel, college football analyst “Stanford Steve” Coughlin and reporters Jen Lada and Jess Sims round out the College GameDay cast for the 2026 college football season. College GameDay averaged 2.5M viewers from Salt Lake City, Utah — the second-best Week 8 episode in the show’s history. The final hour drew 3.1M viewers, up 105% against the competition. Through eight weeks, the show is up 5% from last year’s record season average
Show guests and highlights-Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti will appear live on the College GameDay set Saturday morning. Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita joins the show live from the field ahead of the 6-1 Wildcats’ matchup against Texas Tech. This week’s GameDay Film Room with Nick Saban breaks down Northwestern’s creative offense, with an eye on the Wildcats’ 6-1 start.
Features:-“Jalen Klemm”: After Arizona State offensive lineman Jalen Klemm survived a stroke, his father, former New England Patriot Adrian Klemm, turned to former teammate Tedy Bruschi. Bruschi, a former Arizona Wildcat, returned to football eight and a half months after his 2005 stroke. Two decades later, the Klemms hoped he could offer inspiration and a road map back to the field. Tedy Bruschi reports. “Gator for Life”: After a 4-8 season, Florida hired Jon Sumrall, who led Tulane to the College Football Playoff, a day after he buried his father George, 77. On Christmas Eve 2025, Sumrall and his family traveled through their grief to a grandmother’s kitchen table near Atlanta to remind Gators star running back Jadan Baugh that Gainesville was home. Marty Smith reports. “Unnamed to Undisputed”: Curt Cignetti and Indiana’s improbable rise from underachiever to contender has reshaped college football’s possibilities. Across the country, programs are looking to Bloomington and asking: if they can do it, why can’t we? Ryan McGee reports. “Most interesting man”: Indiana sophomore punter Billy Gowers, 30, took an unconventional path from Melbourne, Australia, to college football: eight seasons of Aussie Rules football followed by professional Kabaddi, a high-energy contact sport blending tag and wrestling. Jess Sims reports. “Saban 75”: In celebration of Coach Nick Saban‘s 75th birthday and a Hall of Fame career spanning six decades, College GameDay looks back at some of his most memorable moments on the sideline — in a manner befitting Halloween.
Pat McAfee’s ‘Kicking is Easy delivered by The Home Depot’-The fan-favorite segment returns for its fourth season on College GameDay. Fans who arrive early will have the chance to be selected from the on-site pit to attempt a 33-yard field goal. Throughout his time on the show, Pat McAfee and the contest have awarded more than $14 million in prizes and charitable donations. Full details, including official rules, are available here.
Countdown to GameDay-Harry Douglas and Harry Lyles Jr. return for their fifth season as co-hosts of ESPN’s social and digital pre-pregame show, Countdown to GameDay, with Sims joining the duo this season as an additional co-host, reporting live from the College GameDay site each week. The show is available every Saturday at 8:20 a.m. ET across ESPN on YouTube, Facebook and the ESPN App.
ESPN College GameDay Scavenger Hunt-The ESPN College GameDay Scavenger Hunt is live in Bloomington, giving students and fans an interactive way to engage with the show throughout the week. The contest, which began Wednesday, October 28, and runs through Friday, Oct. 30, at 3:30 p.m. ET, is accessible via a dedicated digital microsite and features three challenges — including snapping photos of campus landmarks and answering College GameDay trivia. Fifteen winners, selected at random from participants who complete all three tasks, will each receive access to a premium seating area near the front of the College GameDay set within camera view, along with exclusive College GameDay merchandise. Additional participants will also win official College GameDay merchandise. ESPN collaborated with experiential agency Assembli on the interactive digital and on-site fan experience, and with Flowcode connecting the initiative inside the new College Football ESPN Fan House.
How do I get selected to stand in the pit during the live broadcast?-Students and fans have the opportunity get an up-close view of the show by standing in the pit immediately adjacent to the stage. The pit opens at 6:30 a.m. Selection is on a first-come, first-serve basis for all fans. Students admitted to the pit are encouraged to wear school colors. Participants are subject to ESPN security procedures and policies.
What is the ESPN policy for pit participants?-The following items are prohibited in the pit: bags (of any kind), food and drinks, pens, pencils, markers, dry erase boards and signs on sticks. Throwing objects is strictly prohibited in the pit. A number of sign regulations are required as well.
What are the College GameDay sign regulations?-One of the most beloved traditions associated with College GameDay is the making of signs. No vulgar signs, .com, .net, .org, political or religious signs are allowed. For fans entering the pit, signs cannot be on poles or oversized. All signs brought to Saturday’s taping will be inspected before entry and must abide by College GameDay’s sign policies or will be removed.
Do I need ID?-You will need physical ID to participate in Pat McAfee’s Kicking Is Easy Contest.
Indiana University Basketball Legend Isiah Thomas to be the ESPN College Gameday guest picker IU basketball legend Isiah Thomas will be the guest picker Today when ESPN’s College GameDay airs live from Bloomington. As is the tradition on the program, Thomas will pick the winners of Today’s top college football games along with the regular show hosts. The former star point guard for the Hoosiers won both an NCAA championship and two NBA titles. Thomas averaged 15.4 points and 5.7 assists per game over two seasons at Indiana. After winning an NCAA title as a sophomore in 1981, Thomas turned pro.
The Pistons made him the second pick of the draft, and he led Detroit to consecutive championships in 1989 and 1990. Thomas retired in 1994 with averages of 19.2 points and 9.3 assists. In 13 years with Detroit, he became the franchise’s all-time leader in points, assists, steals and games played. He made the All-Star Team in all but his final year and was named NBA Finals MVP in 1990. Thomas became the fourth player in NBA history to amass more than 9,000 assists. His 13.9 assists per game in 1984-85 set an NBA record for the highest single-season average ever. Thomas is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Baseball great Kyle Schwarber was the guest picker when GameDay was at IU two years ago. GameDay airs live on ESPN from 9 a.m. to Noon ET this morning at Showalter Fountain in the heart of the IU campus.
From the courtroom The NCAA suffers another defeat in the Stephen Daley Kellan Wyatt and Sam Alexis case The NCAA’s effort to expedite the appeals process in the eligibility case involving IU athletes Stephen Daley, Kellan Wyatt, Sam Alexis and others has been denied by the Indiana Court of Appeals. As a result, all athletes involved — including IU football’s Daley and Wyatt, and basketball’s Alexis — are eligible for the foreseeable future. In September the athletes received a preliminary injunction against the NCAA from a Monroe County court that made them eligible for a fifth season of college athletes. The NCAA is appealing that decision and had asked for expedited appellate consideration and briefing “because this case presents time-sensitive issues regarding the eligibility of Plaintiffs-Appellees to participate in the ongoing 2026–27 collegiate athletic seasons.”
On Friday the Appeals Court ruled “Appellant’s Verified Motion to Shorten Time and for Expedited Briefing Schedule is denied.” Earlier in the month a judge also denied the NCAA’s request for emergency stay of the preliminary injunction. All of the athletes who are parties to the case are members of the class of 2022 and seeking to be included in the NCAA’s new five-year eligibility rule passed this summer. Daley has played in seven games for IU this season and has 5.0 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss, 21 quarterback pressures and two forced fumbles. Wyatt has played in six games and has a tackle for loss. He’ll miss this weekend’s game against Minnesota with an injury. Alexis started for IU a year ago and is expected to be a key contributor this season.
Lilly, Indiana Athletics and Purdue Athletics Announce Iconic Court Branding Partnership Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly), Indiana University Athletics, Purdue Athletics and Learfield today announced a significant partnership that will place the Lilly logo directly on the basketball courts at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall and Mackey Arena, uniting one of Indiana’s most iconic companies with two of the nation’s leading college basketball programs. The multiyear partnership marks Lilly’s first full sports sponsorship in college athletics and creates a unique platform to engage two tradition-rich fan bases while further strengthening Lilly’s longstanding relationships with Purdue University and Indiana University. “In Indiana, basketball is how communities come together, from packed arenas to driveway dunking,” said Lina Polimeni, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, consumer, at Lilly. “At Lilly, we believe health comes first, and exercise is one of the most powerful tools we have to protect it. We’re proud to partner with Indiana and Purdue Athletics on two of college basketball’s most storied courts and celebrate a game that keeps the whole state moving.”
Headquartered in Indianapolis, Lilly continues to expand its footprint across Indiana, including construction of a major manufacturing campus in Lebanon that is expected to create significant employment opportunities in the state. The partnership is designed to engage fans and elevate awareness of career opportunities at Lilly while strengthening recruiting connections with students and graduates from two of Indiana’s leading universities. “Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall is one of the most iconic venues in college basketball, and partnering with a world-class, Indiana-based leader like Lilly is a perfect fit,” said IU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson. “Lilly’s unwavering commitment to innovation, excellence, and improving lives mirrors our own mission at Indiana University. We are thrilled to welcome Lilly to Branch McCracken Court and celebrate a landmark partnership that elevates our athletic programs and the opportunities for our student-athletes.”
“Purdue and Lilly share a long-standing commitment to innovation, excellence and making a meaningful difference in the lives of others,” said Purdue University Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Tommy McClelland. “That shared commitment is what makes this partnership so special. While Lilly’s presence on Keady Court will certainly be visible, the significance of this relationship extends well beyond the basketball floor. These are two great institutions within the State of Indiana with a rich history of working together to advance groundbreaking research and create opportunities that impact lives. We are incredibly grateful for Lilly’s continued investment in Purdue and excited to build upon that relationship in a way that directly enhances the experience of our Boilermaker student-athletes and benefits the broader Purdue community.”
The partnership also reflects the growing connection between higher education and industry leaders across Indiana, helping create pathways for students to explore careers in science, technology, business and manufacturing while remaining in the state after graduation. “Lilly, Indiana and Purdue each have extraordinary histories of excellence and impact in the state of Indiana,” said Deana Barnes, Executive Vice President, Sports Properties at Learfield. “Creating a platform that authentically connects these brands with fans while supporting future workforce development makes this a truly unique opportunity.” Through the partnership, Lilly will gain year-round visibility and engagement opportunities across Indiana and Purdue Athletics through a variety of integrated sponsorship activations, highlighted by the prominent placement of the Lilly logo on the courts of both programs.
Indiana University Field Hockey Falls to Rutgers in Regular Season Finale No. 15 Indiana Field Hockey was unable to push past No. 18 Rutgers on Friday afternoon in Piscataway, N.J., dropping the contest 1-2. The Hoosiers finish the regular season 9-7 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten. Indiana opened scoring early with fourth year midfielder Inés Garcia Prado knocking in the long shot from the top of the back of the circle in the seventh minute of play. The second quarter started with third year goalkeeper Sadie Canelli making a save off of an early shot from Rutgers. After defensive play held strong on both sides of the field in the remainder of the quarter, Rutgers found two back-to-back goals to get the 2-1 advantage on Indiana.
- After the break, first year forward Agustina Gamonal attempted to make the equalizer but couldn’t get the ball past Rutgers’ keeper. In the final 15 minutes of play, Indiana picked up its offensive pace. Multiple Hoosiers found opportunities for shots but could not get past Rutgers’ defense. IU was awarded back-to-back penalty corners before the match ended 2-1, with the Scarlet Knights taking the advantage. The goal by Garcia Prado was the first point added onto the board for Indiana after a two-game scoring drought. She now has three goals on the season. The Hoosiers outshot Rutgers 10 total shots to six. Seven of IU’s shots were on goal, forcing Rutgers’ keeper to make six saves through the contest. Garcia Prado led the team with three shots. Third year forward Mijntje Hagen followed with two. Multiple Hoosiers added a shot of their own to the scoresheet. IU will play in the B1G tournament quarterfinals starting on Wednesday, Nov. 4. In Columbus, Ohio. Seeding and opponent will be dependent on B1G play through the weekend.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scores 31 to lead Heat to 145-125 win over the shorthanded Indiana Pacers Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points and had his second triple-double of the season, Bam Adebayo added 27 points and the Miami Heat opened NBA Cup play by beating the short-handed Indiana Pacers 145-125 on Friday night. Antetokounmpo finished with 17 rebounds and 10 assists in 31 minutes as the Heat won their second straight. Adebayo made 11 of 14 shots for Miami, which outscored the Pacers 67-46 in the middle two quarters. Klay Thompson had his best game since joining Miami, with 25 points and seven 3-pointers. He’s now within 55 of matching former Heat guard Ray Allen (2,973) for third-most 3s in NBA history. Quenton Jackson scored 24 and Andrew Nembhard had 22 for Indiana, which got 14 from Jarace Walker and 13 apiece from Pascal Siakam and Jay Huff.
Indiana scored 42 points in the first quarter, then had 46 in the next two combined. Pelle Larsson scored 18 and Davion Mitchell had a 15-point, 11-assist game for the Heat. The Pacers had only 11 available players. Tyrese Haliburton is sidelined for at least a couple weeks and possibly longer with a hamstring strain and the Pacers lost Obi Toppin when his back went out before shootaround Friday morning, acting coach Lloyd Pierce said. Pierce was filling in for Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who was attending his father’s funeral in Ogdensburg, New York. The loss means the Pacers will have a tough time getting out of group play in the NBA Cup event, which is now in its fourth year. Teams play four group-stage games; every team that has reached the knockout round has gone either 4-0 or 3-1 in the opening round. Indiana Pacers: Host Brooklyn on Sunday while the Miami Heat: Visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
It’s much more than just a hoop and a prayer for Notre Dame and Villanova team chaplains in Rome One wall in the Notre Dame office of the Rev. Pete McCormick features a crucifix and religious icons. Another wall features basketballs signed by Larry Bird and other NBA greats, plus a framed miniature version of the Fighting Irish hardwood floor. McCormick may be best known for his call to postgame mass after the third quarters of Notre Dame football games. Basketball is his real love, though, and as team chaplain he’s going to have a special role in the college hoops season-opener against Villanova — which has its own team chaplain, the Rev. Rob Hagan — in Rome on Sunday. In a video call from campus before flying to Italy, McCormick said that he gets to “kind of merge together two deep passions.” “I love basketball. I mean, you can see in the back of my office, I got the court, I’ve got balls (also signed by Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon),” added McCormick, who likes to roll up the sleeves of his clerical shirt and shoot some hoops any chance he gets. “In some ways you might be led to believe that I’m working in the athletic department when I’m really the (assistant vice president) of campus ministry.”
The doubleheader featuring men’s and women’s games between the two Catholic universities will be preceded by a private audience with Pope Leo XIV on Saturday. “It’s important to recognize what is it that the church is saying about this: That there is value in the way that sports bring people together and unify them,” McCormick said. “It’s a reminder of the unity to which we’re called. And man, what an important message for us all to hear right now.” McCormick and Hagan are doing far more than just holding pregame prayers for the teams in Rome. There are customs to follow inside Vatican City and history lessons everywhere you look in Rome.
“If all they do is win a game and miss everything else, then so much will have been missed,” McCormick said. “So, my job is going to be hang with them. Try to point out things that maybe otherwise they might not have seen and just live a little life with them.” McCormick and Hagan have both cut down nets after titles: McCormick when Notre Dame won the ACC tournament in 2015; Hagan after Villanova’s NCAA championships in 2016 and 2018. Most of their work comes off the court, though. “There’s no real textbook on chaplaincy,” said Hagan, who was a criminal defense lawyer before he became a priest. “These student athletes have a lot of people talking at them: their coaches, their parents, their agents, their advisers. And so, I learned early on that my role was in large part to listen, to be not another person who is kind of just telling them what they should be doing but giving them an opportunity to open up what might be going on in their head and their heart.
“A lot of these kids were stars in high school. And then they get to the next level and you’re not playing and you’re not performing to the level that you’re used to. There’s competition for your spot. And injury. They have setbacks, physical, mental and spiritual. And so, I found an opportunity to just kind of companion them on the journey.” Hagan is also the Prior Provincial of the Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova.
Hagan likes to hold mass in the team hotel four hours before game time on road trips. That usually means at mealtime. “So you can smell the chicken and the beef and the foods all there in the room and we’ll say, ‘Before we take our food let’s take some spiritual food.’ And we’ll break out the good word and we’ll find a Gospel passage,” Hagan said. McCormick organizes prayers in the locker room after practice the night before home games. “That’s a lot of pressure,” he said. “A lot of guys (are) really hungry and I’m trying to focus a minute on the mass.”
Not all of the players at Villanova and Notre Dame are Catholic. Hagan said Villanova has had “a fair amount” of players who are Protestant and Methodist and there also have been Jews and Muslims. “That’s the beauty of it: Understanding that nobody has a monopoly on these values,” Hagan said. “Ultimately our call is to go serve others. So that’s kind of a mission that a lot of people can get on board with regardless of their faith persuasion.” It’s the same at Notre Dame. “I always say this at the very beginning of the season: ‘It is not my job to make you Catholic,'” McCormick said. “It’s my job to honor and to respect the person that you are, the dignity that you possess, the tradition that you come from. But I do want to accompany you. And I do hope that on some level, by the time it’s all said and done, you have a deeper understanding of God’s love for you. “And if that helps you to express more fully your own faith tradition, awesome, great. If you say, ‘Hey, I want go and learn more about Catholicism,’ we can do that as well,” McCormick added. “It’s really important for us to attend to the spiritual reality and I think it bonds teams together in the same way that the physical and the emotional (ties) do.”
Religion is a core element at these schools and that’s no different in the athletics departments. “All of our coaches, they buy in, so it’s not, ‘Well, just say a Hail Mary and get out of the way, Father.’ It’s part of the culture that when we recruit, they know that,” Hagan said. “We’re not trying to hit them over the head with the bible. We’re not try to convert them all. But spirituality is part of the culture. “We want to develop your mind in an academic institution, we want develop your body, we want you to be physically strong. Why would we leave that other tool out of the toolbox? And so we go for all three: Mind, body and spirit,” Hagan added. “It can only help you as a person beyond just a player.”
The Eternal City Tip-Off, as Sunday’s event has been labeled, coincides with All Saints’ Day. “The communion of saints is kind of like our Catholic Hall of Fame,” Hagan said. “We hold up people like Augustine and St. Francis, and St. Rita as people who are worthy of imitation. … What better place than to be in proximity of the tomb of St. Peter, our first pope.” After the pregame mass for every home game, McCormick hands out saint-themed medals to players. “You’re going to end up with 15, 16 of these,” he said. “I try to tie some aspect of what that saint stood for into kind of where we’re at in the season or where I know people are at in life. “I always say find some spot in your locker and just put these there. It’s a reminder that in the midst of everything you got going on, you got these people in your corner, too … because the season’s always going to throw some curveballs at you,” McCormick said. “This is the thing that I love about what Father Rob’s doing, what I’m doing, is that we’re speaking profoundly to a spiritual side that oftentimes doesn’t get the attention it deserves.”
So how do chaplains decide what to read to their teams? Hagan lets the church calendar dictate the readings. “I always marvel at how March Madness always falls in the season of Lent. And how seamless the Lenten values translate to a march through the NCAA tournament in terms of sacrifice: Giving up parts of yourself for a greater good,” Hagan said. The Gospel passage for All Saints’ Day is the Sermon on the Mount. “Jesus called all those people to the foot of the mountain. And he basically said, ‘If you don’t remember anything I said, remember this.’ It’s the greatest sermon ever preached,” Hagan said. “And then he tells them and us what it means to have a blessed, purpose-filled life.”