ESPN’s College GameDay Announces Hire of Peloton Instructor Jess Sims

ESPN announced a new hire on Wednesday for the network’s College GameDay broadcasts for the upcoming 2022–23 season: Peloton instructor Jess Sims.

“I am so excited to join the GameDay crew because the show not only celebrates all of the on-field action, but also highlights the passionate communities that surround the games,” Sims said, via ESPN’s press release. “This is such a great opportunity to get back to my roots in college sports and I can’t wait to meet incredible athletes and fans and explore these campuses and cities that eat, sleep and breathe their hometown teams.”

This hiring surprised fans because Sims is not necessarily known for broadcasting or anything football related.

The 31-year-old, best known as a popular Peloton instructor since 2018 with more than 7 million subscribers, began getting her feet wet in the broadcasting world by working with the WNBA’s New York Liberty for the last two years as an in-arena host and  sideline reporter. Sims played college basketball at Trinity College.

Sims will join the Saturday weekly pregame show hosted by Rece Davis, along with Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack. 

Her specific roles for the network haven’t been fully announced yet, though ESPN senior vice president Lee Fitting did provide some detail about what Sims will be doing for the network.

“Jess is a rising star who exudes personality and energy,” Fitting said. “We’re looking forward to her adding to the excitement surrounding College GameDay each week throughout the season—both during the show and as we engage with students and fans on every campus we visit.”

So, it sounds likely that Sims will make live appearances on the pregame show and could be featured in pre-taped segments produced at the show’s host campus during the week.

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