Bill Walton Chosen as ESPN College GameDay Guest Predictor at UCLA for Week 8 Action
ESPN’s College GameDay has found its guest predictor for Saturday morning, and it just so happens to be a UCLA icon.
Usually behind the broadcaster’s table doing color commentary for the Pac-12’s best basketball matchups, Bill Walton will trade in the rock for the pigskin on Saturday morning. The UCLA men's basketball alumnus and Hall of Famer will be the special guest for the GameDay broadcast and provide his picks for college football’s best games this weekend, including the UCLA-Oregon showdown at the Rose Bowl.
There was significant speculation around who the guest would be throughout the week. Anyone from Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook to former UCLA and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman could have been chosen, and even celebrities such as Jack Black or Dax Sheppard were rumored for the role of guest predictor on Saturday.
Whoever it was going to be, they would be featured prominently on the first College GameDay hosted by the Bruins since 1998 and the first ever show to set up shop on campus in Westwood.
In the end, it was the prolific personality Walton who was chosen.
“Speaking as a man who has worked with Bill Walton many times over the years,” said College GameDay host Rece Davis. “When he starts waxing about the conference of champions, John Wooden and the pyramid of success and the beauty and the wonder that is UCLA – I think that should Bill Walton show up on our show, I would advise the producer of the noon eastern, 9 a.m. pacific (time) game that we will join them in progress with about 12 minutes left in the second quarter.”
Earlier this week, coach Chip Kelly vocalized his support for the selection of Walton for the broadcast, and now he has received his wish.
“I just thought he would be the most entertaining,” said Kelly. “That's the fun part of that. I think Bill Walton and coach (Lee) Corso would be – I would pay to see that.”
The last time the former Bruin was involved in a college football broadcast, it was for a celebrity-hosted National Championship telecast, and Walton made sure he was fully dressed up for the occasion.
Whether Walton eats a cupcake with a lit candle on top, or just provides the broadcast with commentary as colorful as a rainbow, there is a strong likelihood it will be an exciting morning in Westwood.
The College GameDay broadcast starts at 6:00 a.m. on ESPN and will lead into the first action of the day on the gridiron. Then, at 12:30 p.m., UCLA will take on Oregon on ABC.
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