Pat McAfee acknowledged on Wednesday that College GameDay considered Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship. But ultimately, it was never going to happen.
During The Pat McAfee Show, the former Indianapolis Colts punter said the Big Ten title game between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana came up in conversations. Still, Atlanta and the SEC Championship Game between Alabama and Georgia were always the more likely destination.
“There was a chance — actually, there probably was never a chance that College GameDay would be here in Indianapolis for one versus two — but I do know at least it was thought about and talked about amongst people that I was in a conversation with,” McAfee explained. “It doesn’t end up happening because I think we all expected to be heading down to Atlanta. Once again, it’s really cool down there being part of the SEC Championship, being at the convention center, Alabama and Georgia, obviously two titans of college ball, taking each other on.”
GameDay was already in Athens earlier in the season for Alabama-Georgia, so returning to Atlanta for the rematch made sense. The bigger issue, however, was that Indianapolis would have marked the third straight week GameDay visited a Big Ten site. Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff, which was in Ann Arbor the previous week for Ohio State-Michigan, is already heading to Indianapolis — albeit without Dave Portnoy — for the championship game. ESPN wasn’t going to double up on the same location as its biggest competitor while also stacking three consecutive weeks in the Big Ten, which it no longer possesses a media rights deal with.
McAfee also revealed he’s still planning to attend the Big Ten Championship anyway, though the experience won’t exactly be premium. He claimed that he’s being charged to set up at Lucas Oil Stadium and that his view will be partially blocked by a 15-foot jib positioned directly in front of his seats.
GameDay‘s site selections have drawn scrutiny all season, from returning to Oregon twice to picking Miami-Florida over other options, and everything in between. Rece Davis has defended the process multiple times, explaining that variety and conference balance matter in the decision-making.
“You always try to go where the best story is for that week,” Davis explained.
And the fact that McAfee is still going to Indianapolis on his own dime, paying for seats with an obstructed view, says something about where he thinks the better story is. But the better story for the network with SEC conference allegiances is in Atlanta.