Sean McDonough (right) and Greg McElroy. (Photo courtesy of Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images) Sean McDonough (right) and Greg McElroy. (Photo courtesy of Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images)
By Michael Grant on

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College football is finally here, and Sean McDonough will call one of the weekend’s biggest games.

No. 24 Louisville vs. No. 9 Ole Miss in Nashville, Tenn., is the only matchup between ranked teams in Week 1. On Sunday night, McDonough will provide the play-by-play at Nissan Stadium for ABC, alongside analyst Greg McElroy and sideline reporter Katie George.

The 2025 National Sportscaster of the Year is synonymous with college football and is among the most recognizable voices and faces in sports broadcasting. We caught up with McDonough to discuss the Louisville-Ole Miss game and other topics.

Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

What do you love most about college football?

Sean McDonough: “I think the atmosphere. They’re only playing, what, 12, 13 games unless they go into the playoffs. So every one of them is meaningful, and each of these places has its own uniqueness and traditions, and I love the intensity of the competition. Above all else, I got into this because I love sports. People ask me all the time, what’s your favorite sport to call? And I never really pick one because the thing I love most is that I’ve got a chance to do 11 sports on national TV. So, to be there when it’s a high-level game and watch two great teams, like we’re going to have Sunday night, two excellent teams going head-to-head in a really meaningful game, that’s what I enjoy the most.”

Why should someone who is a casual fan tune in to the Louisville vs. Ole Miss game?

“Ole Miss might have the best player in the country in Trinidad Chambliss, and he might not be the best player on his own team because Kewan Lacy, the running back, is as good as there is at his position in college football, in my opinion. So, they have two marquee players, two guys who are realistic Heisman Trophy candidates on the same offense. I think Chambliss is as electric as any player in college football. We saw their quarterfinal game in the College Football Playoff last year in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia, and he put on an amazing show. And he certainly played well enough for them to win the semifinal too against Miami. So, he’s a dynamic player who can run and throw, and he’s a terrific athlete and a great team leader.”

What intrigues you about Louisville?

“And then on the Louisville side, a really solid program over the last three years under Jeff Brohm. They’ve won nine or more games in each of the three. They’re one of only seven Power 4 teams to have done that. So they’ve been consistently really good. The quarterback is a very interesting story. Lincoln Kienholz has been at Ohio State for the last three years. He’s obviously a highly recruited player coming out of high school in South Dakota, and he competed with guys like Kyle McCord, Will Howard, and Julian Sayin. Over the last few years, he was never able to become the starting quarterback. Now he goes to Louisville with a good team around him, but this will be the first game he has started since high school in 2022. So he’s a very interesting story.”

What’s it like to work with Greg McElroy?

“Oh, it’s awesome. He’s a great person. More than anything else, that’s the most important thing for me, whether it’s the analysts, the producers, the directors, or the technical and production crews. You want to be around nice people who are also great at what they do. And he is definitely one of those people. He’s a very nice guy, very smart, and a lot of fun to work with. I think he’s become an excellent analyst, and he continues to get better every year. He brings the perspective of someone who played quarterback at a high level. He has a great understanding of football.”

What about working with Katie George?

“This is going to be her first game with our group as our regular sideline reporter. We will really miss Molly McGrath because she is a dear friend and a talented pro. I’m excited for her that she’s going to do the NFL and that she’s getting to do more studio shows, which I know she’s really enjoying. But I think Katie is as good as there is. She’s a former athlete, so I think she brings that perspective. And what I’m really impressed with, in addition to her storytelling ability, is that she’s a very good interviewer. Sometimes, particularly during live, pregame, end-of-the-quarter, halftime, and postgame interviews, it can be awkward, but she’s just a great question asker. It’s one thing to ask the right question, but I think it’s also important to phrase it in the right way to get the best answer. I think she does that as well as anybody in our business.”

 

How important is it to build chemistry with your entire broadcast crew?

“I think it’s important to spend as much time as you can together off the air. We try to make sure we get lunch and/or dinner. Greg and I have spent time playing golf together. We’re friends. I think the more you know each other as people, the more you know each other’s personalities and senses of humor… That helps when stuff comes up in the game, when you already know how your partner, sideline reporter, or the people in the truck feel about that player, that coach, or the offense or defense they’re running. Time spent together off the air is critically important. If you don’t do that, you’re not going to have the kind of chemistry you could and should have.”

Does player movement through the transfer portal and NIL make your job more difficult?

“Yeah, it’s harder. I keep my spotting boards from year to year. You pulled out last year’s when you had the team this year, and it was mostly the same players unless they had graduated. But now it’s really not the same players. Both of these teams, I believe, have more than 30 transfers who’ll be part of their team this year. There’s some carryover from year to year, but there are a lot of new people. So, that was a big part of our conversation…

“We have people whose full-time job is doing focus groups with the audience. The thing that keeps coming back to us is that people don’t really want to hear about NIL, the transfer portal, conference realignment, and court cases, and that’s true. With all the stuff that surrounds college athletics, college football in particular, a lot of it is not attractive, but the games are still awesome. I think back to the playoff last year. I think once people start watching the games, that’s really almost entirely what they care about.”

Have you received any feedback on what you said about Ole Miss’ broadcast booth?

“Their SID already knew how I felt about that because I’d told him directly. And I think we might have even commented on it once or twice. I wasn’t trying to be critical of their booth. I was asked a question on a podcast, which I answered honestly, as I always try to do. And nobody really cares. When people tune in to watch the game, they don’t want to hear you complain about your situation. I’ve said this a lot to aspiring play-by-play people: nobody cares that your flight got canceled, that the game is going long, or about your problems.

“In hockey, most of the broadcast booths in the NHL are dangling from the ceiling, five or six levels, five or six stories above the ice. Nobody cares. Just announce the game. So, there are a lot of challenges when you do a game at Ole Miss, but we deal with them. Larry Faircloth, who sets up our booth, is the MVP when we go there, and he spends an incredible amount of time and effort to make it as good as it can be. And that’s not easy.”

Which school has the best booth?

“Most of the broadcast booths are excellent. They’re at the appropriate height and distance from the field. It’d be hard to pick one. We did four games at Alabama last year. It’s great. It’s at the right height. It’s on the right yard line. It’s spacious. It has a bathroom just outside the door. Those things are important. The commercials aren’t very long if you have to run down the hall. So, you try to make it to halftime without having to use the restroom, but a bathroom in the booth is appreciated at all times.” 

Do you have any memorable stories about being recognized somewhere you weren’t expecting to be recognized?

“We flew from Los Angeles to Auckland, which took about 14 hours. A car picked us up and took us to the golf place where we were staying for the first couple of days on the North Island of New Zealand. When we got there, our room wasn’t ready. All you really want to do is take a shower and dump your stuff, but because of our tee time, they said, ‘Well, you can change in the locker room at the golf club.’

“You’re bringing your suitcases down there. I’m changing, and I hear, ‘Hello, Sean.’ I look up, and it’s Bob Ford, the legendary former golf professional at Oakmont and, I believe, Seminole, whom I’ve known for a long time. You really don’t expect that. The first person I saw outside the people I was with was Bob Ford.”

About Michael Grant

Born in Jamaica. Grew up in New York City. Lives in Louisville, Ky. Sports writer. Not related to Ulysses S. Grant.

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