ESPN reveals Masters College GameDay set, show rundown

ESPN’s iconic Saturday morning juggernaut will be live from the Par 3 course at Augusta National Golf Club for the first time and the network has released its show rundown as well as some photos of the set.

It’s the 84th Masters this year and Augusta, Georgia, becomes the 91st city to host ESPN College GameDay.

The show will once again be hosted by Rece Davis, who is joined by Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, David Pollack, Maria Taylor and Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica. Lee Corso will join the show live from his home.

- ESPN channels to televise remainder of Masters second round Saturday

Due to the second round of the Masters spilling over to Saturday, there’s a slight adjustment, as ESPN’s golf coverage will start at 7:30 a.m., and GameDay will start at 9 a.m. ET on ESPN2. The show will later move to ESPN when second-round coverage of the Masters finishes.

There was no Par 3 Contest this week but ESPN’s set is now there, overlooking Ike’s Pond and the famous ninth green.

And how about those white football helmets with the official Masters logo?

Show rundown

Among the stories scheduled for Saturday’s show:

Justin Thomas, who was the GameDay picker just over a year ago, played for two years at Alabama and got to know head football coach Nick Saban. Nowadays, the two friends keep in touch with frequent phone calls and a little bit of trash talk.

From the cathedral of golf, there are connections that tie famous golf courses and historic college football stadiums.

Stanford head coach David Shaw talks about Tiger Woods’ connection with his alma mater.

Tom Rinaldi sits down with legendary play-by-play golf commentator Verne Lundquist, who has called some of the most memorable moments in college football and the Masters.

Join the club

Previous non-football GameDay locations include Independence Hall, Times Square, Walt Disney World Resort, Bristol Motor Speedway and Wrigley Field. Now, it’s the hallowed grounds of Augusta National.

- Todd Kelly, Golfweek