ESPN announces special live pregame show with College GameDay analysts for Bill Belichick’s UNC debut
By Andrew Olson
Published:
ESPN has announced a special live pregame show for Bill Belichick‘s much-anticipated North Carolina coaching debut. While it won’t be College GameDay, many GameDay analysts are heading to Chapel Hill on Labor Day to preview UNC’s season-opening game against TCU.
The pregame coverage will air under the College Football Countdown billing, with Matt Barrie hosting the show. Barrie will be joined by GameDay analysts Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and Nick Saban, as well as Tedy Bruschi and Pete Thamel.
The analysts know Belichick well. Bruschi spent all 13 seasons of his NFL career playing for Belichick’s New England Patriots. Saban was a Belichick assistant with the Cleveland Browns from 1991-94 and the 2 have remained close, participating in “The Art of Coaching” HBO documentary. Belichick has been a frequent guest on The Pat McAfee Show.
UNC vs. TCU is set for an 8 p.m. ET kickoff, with Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe on the call for ESPN. College Football Countdown will begin at 7 p.m. ET.
Sept. 1, ESPN will present a special college football Week 1 pregame show live from @UNC on Labor Day
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) July 24, 2025
Airing from the sidelines of Kenan Stadium ahead of Bill Belichick's CFB coaching debut as @UNCFootball hosts @TCUFootball
7p ET | ESPN
Details: https://t.co/NzokbgJCqK pic.twitter.com/CheeXUmL27
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
