Austin, TX
ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot Travels to the Lone Star State for Showdown Between New SEC Rivals No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Georgia
ESPN Images selects from previous GameDay trips to Texas
- College football’s premier pregame show heads to Austin, Texas, for a full ‘ESPN Texas Takeover’ weekend and top-5 SEC matchup
- Week 7 Special Guests: Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, Longhorns legend Vince Young, Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas and comedian Tony Hinchcliffe; World No. 1 golfer and Texas Ex Scottie Scheffler joins as the Week 8 guest picker
- Fans arriving early will have the chance to win prizes including exclusive t-shirts, free breakfast, photo opportunities with a custom Texas-wrapped Formula 1 car and the chance to enter to be picked for Pat McAfee’s kicking contest for the opportunity to win $90,000 of Pat’s money
ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot will be live from Austin, Texas, ahead of one of the most anticipated matchups of the season as No. 1 Texas hosts new SEC rival, No. 5 Georgia. The premier college football pregame show will be at its third AP Top-5 matchup this season and will originate from South Mall on campus from 9 a.m. – noon ET on ESPN & ESPNU.
The GameDay visit adds to a full ‘ESPN Texas Takeover’ weekend along with the top-5 college football showdown on Saturday evening and the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on Sunday. Additional ESPN and ABC programming, as well as event activations, will be in Austin throughout the action-packed weekend.
Host Rece Davis, at the helm for his 10th season, is joined at the desk by GameDay analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and Nick Saban. College football insider Pete Thamel, college football betting analyst ‘Stanford Steve’ Coughlin and reporters Jen Lada and Jess Sims round out the GameDay cast.
Following the pregame show, the lead game team of Chris Fowler, Herbstreit and Holly Rowe, joined by Katie George, will be on the call on ABC Saturday Night Football Presented by Capital One (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC, ESPN+).
At the midway point of the college football regular season, College GameDay remains on pace for its best season ever averaging 2.2 million viewers, a 9% increase over the 2023 season. Week 7’s trip to Oregon marked the best October episode since the show expanded to three hours and the second-best October episode of all time.
On Site in Austin
The first 200 fans will receive free breakfast tacos to start the morning and will have the chance to win prizes including exclusive GameDay t-shirts and a chance to win a photo at the iconic desk with the show’s analysts.
Additional offerings this week include an opportunity to take photos with a custom Texas-wrapped Formula 1 car and play ‘Pitch-a-Fit’ for additional prizes.
Pat McAfee’s Kicking Contest – Returning for its second season, GameDay will offer an exclusive contest during the live show, Pat McAfee’s Kicking Contest. Fans who arrive early will have a chance to be chosen from the ‘pit’ onsite with the opportunity to attempt a 33-yard field goal. If the contestant successfully completes the kick, they will be awarded $90,000 from McAfee. Full details, including official rules, can be found here.
The show and offerings are free for fans and early arrival is encouraged for these exclusive offers.
For onsite information, please visit College GameDay’s Hub HERE.
Show Highlights & Guests
- Coaches & Players on GameDay – Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian will visit the GameDay set during the show ahead of the Longhorns’ game. The show will feature a look into Indiana’s prep ahead of their matchup with Nebraska with Hoosier’s linebacker Aiden Fisher wired for sound earlier this week.
- Coach’s Film Room – Saban takes fans inside his film room to break down the new-look offense for undefeated Navy.
- Texas Takeover Crossover – Sims chats with F1 drivers ahead of the show and tests their knowledge of American college football, while Saban takes a hot lap at the Circuit of the Americas where Sunday’s Formula 1 race will be held.
- Special Guests – Texas football legend Vince Young makes a stop at GameDay this week. The former quarterback is one of the most decorated QBs in Longhorn history and was the third overall pick in the NFL Draft following his collegiate career. Highly decorated Olympic track and field medalist Gabby Thomas also joins the pregame show this week. The Austin local earned three gold medals this summer at the Paris Olympics. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe will make an appearance on the show, joining McAfee for his Kicking Contest this week.
- Guest picker – World No. 1 golfer and Texas Ex Scottie Scheffler returns to Austin to join College GameDay as the Week 8 celebrity guest picker. Scheffler is coming off an historic seven-win season on the PGA TOUR which included a successful title defense at THE PLAYERS Championship and a season-capping TOUR Championship victory which secured the title as the PGA TOUR’s 2024 FedExCup Champion. Other career-defining wins this season include his second title at the Masters Tournament, a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris and was on the victorious U.S. Team at the Presidents Cup.
Additional guests will be announced ahead of Saturday’s show on ESPN PR’s Twitter and College GameDay’s Twitter.
Corso’s Count
- Coach Corso will be making his 419th mascot headgear selection this week at Texas. So far this season, his picks have gone a perfect 5-0.
- This will be the Longhorns’ 10th time hosting GameDay, and the 24th time Texas will appear on the show. Corso is 9-6 in the previous 15 times he’s chosen Texas, including a win earlier this season in Week 2 against Michigan.
- The Bulldogs will be making their 37th appearance on the pregame show, with Corso picking Georgia headgear 13 times for an 8-5 record in those games.
Features:
- Texas Fight – Since his freshman year, Texas left tackle Kelvin Banks has started every game for the Longhorns, but for most of those games, his mother wasn’t in the stands. For two years, Monica Banks was plagued with health issues that baffled doctors and robbed her of the ability to walk and talk. Thanks to her husband’s determination and a chance conversation, Monica is on the road to recovery – in a burnt orange jersey and cheering for her son. Jen Lada reports.
- Tennessee Tradition – “Papaw Carroll” was as big a Tennessee football fan as they come and there was nothing he took more seriously than the Volunteers’ rivalry with the Alabama Crimson Tide. After his passing, his grandson Josh began a tradition to keep their bond over the Vols alive with a special tribute at Papaw’s gravesite that continues to this day— and especially on the Third Saturday in October.
- Fall Wedding 101 – There are only so many Saturdays in the fall when the rest of the world falls away and it’s just you and the day of college football ahead. But what happens when one of those Saturdays is suddenly no longer yours because…“you’ve been cordially invited.” Marty Smith and Ryan McGee weigh in on how to survive Fall Wedding Season when the couple’s special day is in your football watching way.
- Hope At the Half – As we approach the halfway point of an already unbelievable college football season, fans have experienced all-time memorable moments, enormous upsets and weekly displays of greatness. But there is one thing that many teams are experiencing that is unfamiliar this far into the season…hope. Ryan McGee reports.
ESPN’s Expansive Digital Coverage
ESPN’s social and digital pre-pregame show, Countdown to GameDay Presented by Dr Pepper, will be live from Austin with hosts Christine Williamson, Harry Douglas and Harry Lyles Jr. for the Week 8 show. Lifetime Longhorn linebacker Brian Orakpo will join the show as a special guest at the start of the show, Douglas will do a film breakdown on Georgia’s offense and ‘Stanford Steve’ will join the trio to discuss the top college football matchups of the week. The show is available across ESPN on YouTube, Facebook and the ESPN App at 8:20 a.m. weekly.
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Media Contact:
Julie McKay, ESPN Communications – [email protected], @McKay_Julie
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Society Sons of the American Revolution unveiled a new monument at the Texas State Cemetery on Saturday, dedicated to Texas Revolutionary War soldiers.
“We must educate every generation about why it is that America grew from a tenuous 13 colonies into the most powerful country in the history of the world,” said Governor Abbott. “This monument here is an enduring testament to the heroes who fought for the freedom that is unique to America.”
The monument was dedicated to 69 soldiers who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Texas, according to a press release.
Among those that were honored, Abbott recognized:
- José Santiago Seguín, grandfather of Texas Revolutionary hero Juan Seguín.
- Peter Sides, who fought in the 2nd Battalion of the North Carolina Regiment of the Colonial Army, and was later killed in the 1813 Battle of Medina, fighting for Mexican independence against Spain.
- Antonio Gil Y’Barbo, the founder of Nacogdoches.
- William Sparks, who fought as a mounted rifleman in the American Revolution and later settled in Texas. He had two sons and two grandsons who fought in the Texas Revolution.
“This year marks the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, which not only gave freedom to the British colonies of North America, but inspired movements for freedom and liberty all over the world,” said TSSAR President Mel Oller. “Texans played a role in the war too, and it’s important to recognize them, and the sacrifices they made for our freedom.”
At the monument unveiling, Abbott was also inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution and received its Silver Good Citizenship Medal.
AUSTIN, Texas — Inside a green wooden box mounted to a steel fence, a treasure trove of trinkets awaits. Just a few miles north is another goodie box, this time covered in leopard print and inside a craft studio. Farther east, a simple white trinket box sits mounted on a wooden pole, decorated with stars and a crow saying, “Thanks for visiting!”
These boxes, filled to the brim with stickers, keychains, jewelry, collectibles and more, are known as trinket trade boxes. Austin has seen a sudden surge in these boxes over the last few months, and despite their varying locations, one sentiment ties them all together: trinket trading is a fun way to bring a bit of joy to the community.
“Little things that bring people joy is so important right now, which I think a lot of us can agree with, and I’ve seen all sorts of people use the box so far,” said Anna Arocha, whose trinket box is in The Triangle neighborhood downtown. “Little kids and all the way up to people in their 50s and 60s, I’ve seen stop by.”
Trinket trading operates on a simple system of take something, leave something. People can swap a toy car for a lanyard, a bracelet for a Sonny Angel, or a Pokémon card for a rubber duck.
“There was somebody who was just walking by with their kid in the stroller, and there was a finger puppet inside of the box, and I saw her swap something out and walk away with the little finger puppet,” Arocha said. “And it was just such a cute moment to see a mom and a kid enjoy something like that.”
Arocha put her crafting skills to work and made her green wooden box in just one day using craft wood and a wine crate last month. Amy Elms opted for a small, white junction box to ensure it could withstand harsh Texas weather. Ani’s Day & Night on East Riverside, which has a large outdoor space for picnic tables and food trucks, gave Elms permission to place her trinket box on their property in January.
Ally Chavez used her own property, Create! Studio ATX on West Anderson Lane, for her leopard-print box that opened in March.
“There wasn’t a ton up here in the north area, so we just kind of wanted to put it together and put it up for the studio just as a way to connect with the community in a way that no one has to spend money,” Chavez said.
Since their debuts, all three trinket boxes have garnered thousands of interactions on social media. When Arocha posted about the opening of her box in March, she racked up 100,000 views on TikTok. But with the excited comments came a bit of negative attention, and her cameras caught a thief trying to take all the trinkets. Arocha now locks the box at night.
“If somebody wants to do that, so be it,” Arocha said. “We can start over, and if the joy that it brings outweighs that every time, I think it’s worth doing.”
Arocha, Elms and Chavez’s boxes are now registered on a website called Worldwide Sidewalk Joy, alongside all the others in Austin and across the globe, as trinket trading grows to become a kind of new, modern geocaching.
“Honestly, it’s been I think even better than I expected so far,” Elms said. “I’ve had people… visiting Austin from out of town, and they’re making it a stop during their visit. I’ve also had multiple people reach out to me to ask how they can start their own trinket trade box, too, which I really love.”
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Forbes on Friday released its annual list of ‘New Ivies,’ and the University of Texas at Austin made it. This is not UT’s first time on the list; it was included in 2024 and 2025.
It’s important to note the Forbes designation does not make UT an Ivy League School. Schools currently designated as Ivy League are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University.
Forbes argued its list was created because a growing number of employers have said they are less likely to hire an Ivy League grad today compared to five years ago. The list is curated by surveying over 100 C-Suite and hiring executives, as well as using data from the 2024 National Center for Education Statistics to gauge if a school fulfilled the criteria to be on the list.
One respondent said instead of prestige, employers are looking for graduates who have “complex emotional intelligence, radical adaptability and visionary creativity to orchestrate AI tools rather than compete with them.”
Forbes said colleges had to meet three criteria to be considered, which included:
- Size: Private schools must enroll at least 3,000 students, and public colleges must have at least 4,000 students enrolled.
- Selectivity: All but one private college had an admission rate of less than 15%; public college admission rates were 50% or less.
- Testing Requirements: At least half the entrants must have submitted either the SAT or the ACT scores
Forbes argued testing requirements indicated academic rigor, as a result. Schools such as the University of California and California State schools were not considered.
When it came to UT meeting the requirements for the list, UT had an undergrad enrollment of 44,663 students with a 27% acceptance rate. When it came to test scores, it had a median SAT score of 1390 and a median ACT score of 31.
For a full list of the public and private schools included in the Forbes 2026 New Ivies list, click here.
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