Sports

'College GameDay' Undecided On Pat McAfee's Special Plans for 2026

ESPN's "College GameDay" is undecided on Pat McAfee's special plans for the 2026 season.

The former NFL punter turned sports media mogul held a kicking contest every week of the season in 2025. McAfee would bring a college student onto the show and have them attempt to make a field goal from 30 yards out or so. If the kick was made, McAfee would award them with hundreds of thousands of dollars, often donating a lot to charity, too.

The segment was a big hit, with the money awarded coming directly from McAfee's pocket.

But will the segment continue in 2026?

 Pat McAfee, right, talks to Kirk Herbstreit on the set of ESPN College GameDay prior to the NCAA football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Texas Longhorns at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025.
Pat McAfee, right, talks to Kirk Herbstreit on the set of ESPN College GameDay prior to the NCAA football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Texas Longhorns at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025. Ric Tapia/Getty Images

That is unclear.

ESPN "College GameDay" host Rece Davis admitted to Front Office Sports that the show is undecided on McAfee's special plans for the 2026 season and beyond.

Ultimately, whether or not to move forward with the kicking contest comes down to McAfee and his wants.

McAfee special could continue in 2026...or not

Davis made it clear that it's up to McAfee.

"That's Pat's domain. You'll have to ask Pat about that," he told FOS.

"All I will say about it is we love it. It's just tremendous. I told Pat a year or so ago. I said, when you first came on the show, my wife has an aunt who just turned 90, but she could pass for 60, probably. She's a big football fan. But she wasn't really familiar with Pat. It didn't take long before I told him, I think she likes you better than she likes me now. A lot of it is his personality. A lot of it is the kicking contest. So that's his domain. I'll have to defer to him on that one."

Hopefully, it'll continue in a big way.

Copyright The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 9:00 AM.

Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER