Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN’s lead college football analyst, recently addressed claims of SEC favoritism by the network, pushing back against the widespread perception during an appearance on the Andy & Ari On3 podcast.
“In my 29 years at ESPN, I’ve never been told to promote the SEC or favor any conference,” Herbstreit stated. “No one’s ever said, ‘We have a deal with the SEC, so you need to push them.’ It’s never happened. Honestly, I don’t even focus on what conference teams are in—I just watch the games. And if anything, I’m a Big Ten guy at heart. When I’m not working, I’m cheering like crazy for Big Ten teams in bowl games.”
Herbstreit also dismissed the idea that ESPN executives were unhappy with only one SEC team, Texas, making the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. “If anything, this final four is a dream: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, and Texas. If you know anything about ratings, that’s gold. We’d take Ohio State and Notre Dame every year over any other matchup. Big brands drive ratings, not ‘small little schools‘ like Clemson.”
The analyst further argued that ESPN’s “College GameDay“ disproves any SEC bias by regularly featuring games from other conferences. “We love stories, not conferences. We went to Big Ten games all season and promoted them heavily,“ Herbstreit explained. “If I’ve added to the perception of SEC favoritism, I apologize. That’s not my intention at all.“
Herbstreit’s comments aimed to clarify that ESPN’s focus is on the biggest stories and matchups in college football, not any specific agenda tied to one league. While I see where he’s coming from, it’s tough to fully buy into these claims.
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