Overview
- The Athletic’s reader poll reported 49.5% dislike McAfee on College GameDay, with 31.6% in favor and 18.9% neutral, a result executives referenced as coming from roughly 3,500 respondents.
- ESPN president of content Burke Magnus argued that viewers “vote with their remote controls,” noting three straight seasons of record GameDay audiences.
- Senior vice president Mike Foss cited about 2.7 million viewers for GameDay each Saturday and roughly 500,000 daily for McAfee’s show as stronger indicators of appeal.
- The survey also found broad loyalty to the program itself, with 83.6% preferring GameDay to Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff.
- Coverage characterizes McAfee as polarizing yet influential, crediting his high-energy segments and field-goal contest with helping sustain momentum after Lee Corso’s retirement, with no sign his role will change.