A pair of prominent ESPN college football personalities are teaming up for a weekday morning radio show on 94.5 WJOX-FM in Birmingham, Alabama. That would be Greg McElroy (seen at right above) and Cole Cubelic (seen at left above), and their new 7-10 a.m. (Central) morning show will begin July 12. This news comes a few weeks after Ryan Brown, Jim Dunaway, and Lance Taylor revealed their long-running “The Roundtable” morning program on WJOX was ending in an “amicable parting.” And McElroy and Cubelic’s ESPN colleague Adam Schefter tweeted about the news of their new show:
“McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning” featuring ESPNers in Former Jets & Alabama QB @GregMcElroy & former Auburn OL @colecubelic will be the new morning show on @WJOX945 in Birmingham, AL beginning July 12th. The show will air 7-10am locally.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 1, 2021
For Cubelic, this is just a shift in WJOX slots. In addition to his ESPN/SEC work, he had been a co-host on the station’s “3-Man Front” 10 a.m.-noon show since 2018, in addition to his work with ESPN and SEC Network since 2017. And McElroy also has radio experience beyond his ESPN work; he’s been on the ESPNU SiriusXM channel for seven years, including hosting morning show “The First Team” with Taylor Zarzour (who moved on in June 2019) and more recently hosting that show with Danny Kanell. But it will interesting to see these two paired, especially with their pasts of playing for Auburn (Cubelic) and Alabama (McElroy). Here’s more on that from Mark Heim of AL.com:
“Cole sucks, and I can’t wait to dominate him,” McElroy quipped.
…“Having worked with Greg in a very limited capacity over the last few years it consistently made me realize I wanted to find a way for us to have a show together,” Cubelic, the former Auburn offensive lineman, told AL.com. “Being able to combine the work we put into college football with such a powerful brand like WJOX in the greatest college football market in the country was a dream scenario.
…“We moved to Birmingham four years ago because we love the people and the community,” McElroy said. “But, it is so gratifying to be coming home professionally.
em>“Cole has been a great friend for a long time and this has been a dream of ours to work together. And to be able to fulfill that dream on WJOX is incredible. We hope to become the destination for college football fans for daily discussions about the best sport in the world.”
This show will also have producer Damian Mitchell involved, and will see contributions from Pat Smith (a long-time WJOX broadcaster and current assistant program manager and 3-Man Front co-host, as well as the executive producer of the new show) as well. Here’s more on that from a release:
Birmingham, AL’s newest morning radio show for sports fans will kick off on WJOX-FM (Jox 94.5) on Monday, July 12, hosted by two Alabama gridiron greats, both premier national sports commentators. The program will air weekdays from 7-10am, hosted by former Alabama quarterback and ESPN college football color commentator Greg McElroy (pictured) and former Auburn University offensive lineman and captain and sports analyst on SEC Network and ESPN Cole Cubelic.
Pat Smith, a 25-year sports media broadcaster, will be a contributor to the new morning show. He’s the creator of the football radio/television program, “Finebaum,” hosted by Paul Finebaum. Smith is also a play-by-play broadcaster for college and high school football. He is Assistant Program Director of Jox 94.5 and will continue daily hosting duties on the station’s 3 Man Front from 10am-12noon.
Damian Mitchell rounds out the team from behind the glass as Producer, while adding humor and wit to the program every morning.
McElroy said, “After seven years on satellite, I’m so excited to be come to work in my adopted hometown of Birmingham. College football is my passion and being able to cover it from my own backyard will be incredibly rewarding. WJOX has long been the home for college football and I’m fired up to join their lineup of talented hosts. Also, I’m very excited to finally have the opportunity to team up with Cole to share our love for football with the best CFB fans in America.”
Cubelic added, “I have worked with Greg on multiple occasions across different platforms and am thrilled to share the airwaves with someone who has accomplished all that he has in this field. I truly believe with the JOX brand behind us that Greg and I can develop the most informed college football show on the planet.”
Cumulus Birmingham Operations Manager Ryan Haney remarked, “This is a show that I have wanted to put together for a long time and I am excited to get started. Greg and Cole are two of the top college football minds in the country. Having them in mornings on Jox 94.5 in America’s number one college football market is huge.”
We’ll see how this new show works out, but it’s certainly notable to see McElroy and Cubelic pairing up on radio, and to see them doing so outside the ESPN family.
[radio-online.com, AL.com; photo via Barrett Sports Media]
