ESPN’s College Gameday is set to head to Columbia, South Carolina for the upcoming SEC matchup between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the No. 16 ranked LSU Tigers on Saturday. And in anticipation of the game, one of the biggest names in women’s sports has agreed to be part of the network’s pregame coverage.
On Thursday, South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley was featured in a video shared on the College Gameday X account, revealing that she will be the guest picker on the show.
“Hey, what’s up Gamecock fans? I heard you, I saw you on social media asking me to be the guest picker on College Gameday,” said Staley. “Well guess what? When you speak, people listen. So I want to thank you for choosing me to be the guest picker on College Gameday.
“I’ll be out there, Gamecock Park, 9 A.M., I need to see you out there because we’re gonna blow this thing out. We’re gonna make sure they know who we are, what we do, and make sure our football team feels you. We need this win. Come start it off at Gamecock Park. College Gameday. Let’s go, let’s go Gamecocks!”
See you soon, Coach 👋 pic.twitter.com/exvs36Fblb
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 12, 2024
Staley has of course put the Gamecocks on the map in college basketball, leading South Carolina to national championships in 2017, 2022 and 2024.
The location of College Gameday has received scrutiny, particularly from ESPN’s Paul Finebaum who called the decision to go to Columbia for the LSU-South Carolina game “one of the most bizarre Gameday choices in history”.
But given the decision that was made, Staley stands out as an obvious choice as the guest picker considering all she has done for the program and for sports as a whole in recent years.
