Kirk Herbstreit to Call BYU-Navy Game on ESPN

BYU-Navy is the premier game of the opening weekend of college football, and they will get the top ESPN broadcasting crew as a result.

Kirk Herbstreit appeared on 1045 the Zone in Nashville on Monday and confirmed that he will be on the call for BYU-Navy. “They’re (ESPN) having me call BYU-Navy,” Herbstreit said. “It’s the first game on and the only game on that (first) weekend— at least for teams that you’ve heard of — and I don’t know if I’ve ever been more excited for a BYU-Navy game than I am for this game. Labor Day night, and it will be a lot of fun to just to see football.”

Chris Fowler will likely be the play-by-play voice as he has been Herbstreit’s broadcast partner since 2014. This also brings up the question if the College Gameday crew will also be in Annapolis. ESPN confirmed that the popular pregame show will happen if games are played. “If there is college football there will be ‘College GameDay,’” ESPN’s Lee Fitting, who oversees ESPN’s college studio shows and remote programs, said, according to the AP. “Period.”

The only question is if Gameday will broadcast that first week. With Herbstreit on the call, chances are they will produce a show on Labor Day. Navy brings the patriotic angle and there are no other games on, so ESPN needs content to fill for a football-starving audience.

BYU was last part of College Gameday in 2009 when they faced off versus TCU in Provo.