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College GameDay Announces It Made History On ESPN In 2024

Originally posted on The Spun | By Matt Hladik | Last updated Dec 17, 2024 2:19 PM ET

The 38th season of ESPN's College GameDay was the show's best one yet.

According to new figures released by ESPN on Monday, 2024 marked College GameDay's most-watched regular season of all-time, with 30 million viewers tuning in throughout the fall. GameDay also averaged 2.2 million viewers weekly, a 6% increase from 2023. The Week 1 broadcast from College Station, Texas for Texas A&M-Notre Dame averaged 2.5 million viewers, the best mark ever by a pre-November show and the third-best episode all-time.

The Week 13 visit to Ohio State was the fourth-most watched episode ever, while the Week 14 return to College Station also cracked the top 10.

Additionally, the final show of the season, televised from the SEC Championship Game, averaged 2.1 million viewers, the highest number for a conference championship episode since 2010.

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - NOVEMBER 09: ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis and Nick Saban pose for a photo with guest hosts Paul Skenes and Olivia Dunne on the set of ESPN College GameDay at the LSU Quad on November 9, 2024 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by LSU Athletics/University Images via Getty Images)LSU Athletics/Getty Images

This year, GameDay featured the debut of former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, who joined Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Rece Davis, Pat McAfee and Desmond Howard on the panel to widespread approval.

There was also a loaded calendar of guest pickers, including actor Timothee Chalamet, MLB stars Kyle Schwarber and Paul Skenes, the latter of whom appeared with his girlfriend Livvy Dunne, Saban's wife Ms. Terry, college basketball coach Dawn Staley, singer/songwriter Blake Shelton and others.

Schwarber's 8-1 mark as a guest picker in Week 9 (Washington at Indiana) was the best record of the year, followed by Ms. Terry, who went 7-2, and Staley, who was 9-3. Golf star Scottie Scheffler and WWE wrestler Cody Rhodes both were 7-3 making picks.

This weekend, College GameDay will host two shows for the opening round of the College Football Playoff. The first one will be from 3:30 p.m. ET-8 p.m. ET Friday from South Bend, Ind. prior to Notre Dame taking on Indiana.

On Saturday, the crew will host its usual three-hour morning show in Columbus, Ohio, where Ohio State will take on Tennessee Saturday night.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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