Paul Finebaum Makes Decision on Joining ESPN’s College GameDay

Paul Finebaum has been a fixture on ESPN’s college football coverage for a generation, but it doesn’t sound like he’ll be expanding that presence to the network’s biggest show.

And while he did appear briefly on the pregame College GameDay program early in his time at ESPN, the veteran broadcaster isn’t interested in making a comeback there.

Paul Finebaum on joining College GameDay

“I would say no at this point,” Finebaum said flatly when asked about joining GameDay during an appearance on Traina Thoughts this week.

He added: “It’s one of those things that, I have enough problems in my life. To have to be subjected to America’s criticism every single Saturday. It’s bad enough Monday through Friday.”

Finebaum was on GameDay briefly

Paul Finebaum Makes Final Decision on Joining ESPN’s College GameDay — USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

We did see Finebaum on the College GameDay set for a time back during the 2013 season, when he first joined ESPN’s roster of college football voices.

But he then moved over to SEC Nation, where the famed Mouth of the South has been putting in hours during the college football season ever since. That’s in addition to his daily show where he takes calls from fans in SEC country and around the nation.

“My first year at ESPN, they used me in a spot role in GameDay. It was an amazing experience. It is unlike anything I’ve quite experienced in my career,” Finebaum said.

“But I really like doing what I’m doing. The main reason is, we do our show every Friday from the campus that we do the SEC show.”

Finebaum said going around the country and doing an SEC-centric show wouldn’t make much sense.

“Like this week, GameDay is in Boise. It would be really tough to do a show on the SEC Network freezing in Boise, Idaho, talking about, ‘Hey, we got Texas and LSU,’ and I’ve got mountains behind me and ice droplets are coming out of my nose,” he said.

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