ESPN To Broadcast 'College GameDay' From Times Square

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Times Square will host ESPN's "College GameDay" on Sept. 23, marking the broadcast's first visit to New York City in its 25-year run, the sports network announced Thursday.

ESPN will set up between 43rd and 44th street, parallel with Seventh Avenue, the network announced. The show will run from 9 a.m. to noon, just before the first slate of college football games begin. For fans watching on TV, the backdrop of the main set will face 44th street, according to a press release.

"New York City is a melting pot of college football fans and the heartbeat of America,” ESPN vice president of production Lee Fitting said in a statement. "Thousands of alumni gather in the city each fall Saturday to root on their school and we are bringing 'College GameDay' to New York for them! We want every alumni base and college football fan near and far to join us in Times Square to provide the celebratory, festive atmosphere that is synonymous with the show."

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In the past 25 years "College GameDay" has filmed in 80 different locations. The show usually broadcasts from a college campus playing host to one of the week's highly-anticipated football games.

Fans of "College GameDay" will get to see all their favorite hosts in action when the show comes to New York City. Hosts Rece Davis and Kirk Herbstreit, analysts Lee Corso, Desmond Howard and David Pollack, and reporter Maria Taylor are all set to work the show. Corso will make his 299th "headgear selection" in which he predicts the winner of a game by donning the headgear of its mascot.

"This is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, for us and the fans. With iconic Times Square as the backdrop and alumni bases from all over the country making their presence known in the crowd, my expectation is that it will be one of the top College GameDay settings of all time," Herbstreit said in statement.

The "College GameDay" set will be constructed on Thursday, Sept. 21. ESPN will also broadcast "College Football Live" from Times Square Friday, according to a press release.

Photo by Lead photo by MsSaraKelly via Flickr/Creative Commons