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

Published

2 years ago

October 18, 2024

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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

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Austin, TX

Austin, TX venue Emo’s on the move again, AEG to take over the building

Published

6 hours ago

June 4, 2026

Press Room

Austin, TX venue Emo’s on the move again, AEG to take over the building

Emo’s in Austin is on the move again.

After more than a decade at 2015 E. Riverside Drive (following the original Red River-era venue closing in 2011), Emo’s current Riverside space will be taken over by AEG Presents when the lease ends later this year. The Los Angeles, CA-based company will assume operations in January 2027 and plans to reopen the building under a new name in early 2027 following upgrades, renovations and a full rebrand.

AEG are also opening a new 4,000-cap venue nearby next spring as part of the River Park mixed-use development in southeast Austin.

C3 Presents, who reopened Emo’s at the Riverside location, say this isn’t the end of Emo’s — they’re working on a new home and plan to move the venue back to downtown Austin, with more updates to come.

AEG Presents Vice President Robin Phillips shared the following:

There’s like no weirdness or any bad blood or anything. It just, you know, new lease and they’ll [Emo’s] go do something great. They have been important to the Austin music scene, so I have a lot of respect for them.
But I don’t think the Austin music scene or legacy is limited to one name. I know people will remember the original Emo’s and this Emo’s as, you know, both great venues… And I don’t think Austin’s music scene is just a name, it’s the artists, in my opinion.

A C3 spokesperson added:

Emo’s has a long history in Austin and we’ve been working behind the scenes for some time on a new home for this venue. After we wrap up at this venue in December, we will focus our efforts on our new location.

Emo’s gave the following statement to Austin local news KXAN:

We’re grateful for all of the fans and artists who’ve shaped Emo’s to what it is today: a community of like-minded people who love live music. We have a vision for our future and will be moving into a new building downtown that celebrates our punk rock roots with the new amenities that fans are looking for from a venue. We’ll continue to share updates on the next chapter for Emo’s on social media.

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Austin, TX

Highly pathogenic virus found in herd of Texas dairy cows

Published

16 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

Highly pathogenic virus found in herd of Texas dairy cows

FILE – Your Health with Dr. Kumar: Health officials watch for return of avian flu

AUSTIN, Texas – State and federal agriculture officials said highly pathogenic avian flu has been found in a herd of dairy cows in Texas.

What we know:

Officials said the H5N1 virus was confirmed with laboratory tests in late May after cows at an unspecified farm became sick and milk production dropped. The dairy has since been quarantined and an investigation is underway.

This is the first case of avian flu in a Texas dairy herd this year, officials said.

What they’re saying:

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is confident that pasteurization is effective at inactivating H5N1, and that the commercial, pasteurized milk supply is safe,” officials at the Texas Animal Health Commission said in a statement.

A dairy cow is seen at a farm on June 1, 2026. (Tim Evans/Bloomberg / Getty Images)

Dig deeper:

H5N1 has a high rate of severe disease and death in animals that become infected.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk to the general public from avian flu is low. Some sporadic human infections have been reported around the world since 1997. There have been no known cases of person-to-person spreading of avian flu.

The Source: Information in this story came from the Texas Animal Health Commission, the USDA, the FDA and the CDC.

TexasHealthPets and AnimalsFood and Drink

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Austin, TX

New Texas law tightens rules for autonomous vehicle companies, including Waymo

Published

1 day ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

New Texas law tightens rules for autonomous vehicle companies, including Waymo

AUSTIN, Texas — Self-driving cars have become a common sight on Austin streets, but a new Texas law is adding tougher requirements for the companies behind the wheelless vehicles.

Senate Bill 2807 imposes stricter rules on autonomous vehicle companies operating in the state, including state authorization, emergency response plans for law enforcement, and a public portal where residents can verify operators and file safety complaints.

The changes come as Austin continues to track incidents involving autonomous vehicles. The city’s autonomous vehicle dashboard shows 75 incidents in 2026, including a collision, eight near misses, and seven incidents of ignoring police direction.

Attorney Drew Gibbs, a partner at Slingshot Law, said one crash involved a Waymo vehicle.

“There was a T-bone collision. A pretty serious T-bone collision where a Waymo just crashed into the side of my client’s vehicle,” Gibbs said.

ALSO| Waymo files voluntary software recall over flooded-lane risks on high-speed roads

KEYE

One of the incidents of ignoring police direction happened during the mass shooting on West Sixth Street back in March, when three people died, and 15 others were injured.

Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said autonomous vehicles can struggle in unusual situations.

“It didn’t impede on anything in the moment, but it’s not necessarily uncommon where these vehicles don’t quite know how to deal with these one-off scenarios,” Bullock said.

The new law requires autonomous vehicle companies to be authorized by the state, to provide an emergency response plan for law enforcement, and to participate in a public-facing portal that allows the public to verify operators and submit safety complaints.

Kara Kockelman, a professor of transportation and engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, welcomed the added oversight.

“I’m glad that the state is taking this a bit more seriously now,” she said. “It’s important not to just let others slip in without kind of meeting those basic minimums.”

Bullock said the emergency planning requirement may not make a major difference in fast-moving situations. Asked how impactful it is to have a fully laid out emergency response plan, Bullock said, “These plans are great, but it takes time to work through all of those versus the immediacy of having someone behind the wheel.”

The four autonomous vehicle companies operating in Austin — Waymo, Zoox, AV-Ride, and Tesla — are all state-authorized.

The Texas DMV said an autonomous vehicle company can lose its authorization to operate in Texas if the agency deems the vehicles are operating in a way that endangers public safety.

Waymo was contacted for comment, but had not responded.

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