The College GameDay crew will be a bit different next season. Following Tom Rinaldi’s departure to Fox in January, Maria Taylor left ESPN over the summer for greener pastures at NBC.
According to Front Office Sports, Taylor will not be replaced on ESPN’s morning pregame show. ESPN confirmed the news in a statement, noting that Jed Lada and Gene Wojciechowski would also return as contributors (in addition to the standard cast).
“There are no immediate plans to replace that role,” ESPN told Front Office Sports in a statement. “We look forward to kicking off the 35th season of College GameDay with our talented crew, including Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, David Pollack, Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica, and reporters Jen Lada and Gene Wojciechowski.”
ESPN announced last week that Holly Rowe would replace Taylor as the sideline reporter working with Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit.
This isn’t the most earth-shattering news, though it does seem like it could save ESPN some money, will allow Rowe to focus more on her Saturday game instead of juggling multiple duties, and might make GameDay a tighter show.
About Joe Lucia
I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.