ESPN’s College GameDay is coming to Durham. Why that’s so important for Duke football

For the first time, the football version of ESPN’s College GameDay show is coming to Duke.

The nation’s leader in hosting the basketball show, Duke will be site for College GameDay on Saturday when the Blue Devils host Notre Dame at Wallace Wade Stadium.

ESPN made the announcement Saturday night.

The network has brought its college basketball GameDay show to Duke 12 times, more than any other school. That includes appearances in March 2022 and February 2023 for the Blue Devils’ games with rival North Carolina.

But, entering this season, Duke was among seven Power Five conference schools who had never been the host site for a football College GameDay since ESPN began broadcasting it from campus sites in 1993. The remaining six are California, Illinois, Maryland, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Virginia.

Earlier Saturday, longtime GameDay panelist Lee Corso made clear he wanted the show to go to Durham for the first time.

“I think, personally, even if Notre Dame loses today, we ought to go to Duke,” the 88-year-old Corso said in a video, posted on social media, of a conversation he and fellow College GameDay personality Kirk Herbstreit had prior to Saturday’s show at Notre Dame. “We’ve never been there and they are winning every game.”

It’s another sign of Duke’s growth since Mike Elko became the Blue Devils’ head coach in December 2021. At that point, Duke had lost 13 consecutive ACC games.

After winning 41-7 at Connecticut on Saturday, Duke has won 13 of 17 games over the past two seasons under Elko. The No. 18 ranking the Blue Devils received in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll is the team’s best since 1994.

The GameDay decision means ESPN will feature Duke and the show’s panelists on shows throughout Friday and also Saturday morning on its networks in addition to the Saturday GameDay show from 9 a.m.-noon. The Notre Dame-Duke game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on ABC.

This marks the third time College GameDay has come to the Triangle for its football show. It originated from Chapel Hill on Nov. 8, 1997, when Florida State beat North Carolina, 20-3, and from Raleigh on Oct. 23, 2004, when Miami beat N.C. State, 45-31.

This story was originally published September 23, 2023 at 10:37 PM.

Steve Wiseman

The News & Observer

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Steve Wiseman was named Raleigh News & Observer and Durham Herald-Sun sports editor in May 2025. He covered Duke athletics, beginning in 2010, prior to his current assignment. In the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest, he placed in the top 10 in beat writing in 2019, 2021 and 2022, breaking news in 2019, event coverage in 2025 and explanatory writing in 2018. Before coming to Durham in 2010, Steve worked for The State (Columbia, SC), Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, S.C.), The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.), Charlotte Observer and Hickory (NC) Daily Record covering beats including the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints, University of South Carolina athletics and the S.C. General Assembly. He’s won numerous state-level press association awards. Steve graduated from Illinois State University in 1989.