ESPN has re-signed Rece Davis to a multiyear contract that will keep him in place as host of the network鈥檚 popular Saturday college football pregame show.
The network announced the deal Monday.
Davis, 55, is entering his seventh year as host of ESPN鈥檚 鈥淐ollege GameDay.鈥� He told The Associated Press this new deal will take him through his 10th season leading the show that includes Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and Lee Corso.
"I believe I have the best job in sports television, but when you鈥檝e been doing anything for a while there comes a period of evaluation, I guess, to see whether there are things you would like to pursue,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淎nd for me I still very much wanted to host 鈥楥ollege GameDay鈥� and to still have the opportunity to host some significant events along with that from time to time. Fortunately for me our place was able to provide all of those things.鈥�
Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the network. Davis will also continue to host 鈥滳ollege GameDay鈥� for basketball, along with the network鈥檚 coverage of the NFL draft on A小蓝视频 and the men鈥檚 Final Four.
Davis is also set to host ESPN's coverage of the UEFA European Football Championship this summer. He will still to do some play-by-play for college football and basketball games.
鈥淭he professionalism, energy and knowledge he brings to every show and every assignment is first-class as one of the best in the business," ESPN senior
Davis declined to say if he was pursued by other networks, but he said negotiations with ESPN moved expeditiously.
鈥淓SPN, and my long relationship with them, sort of had what I feel like my strong suits are but also opportunities to do some things to continue to grow as well," Davis said.
The basketball version of 鈥淕ameDay鈥� began in 2005 with Davis as the host. He took over as host of the college football road show in 2015, replacing Chris Fowler.
Fowler left 鈥淕ameDay鈥� to concentrate on calling games and become ESPN's lead college football play-by-play announcer.
Davis said he enjoys calling games and might consider making a similar transition later in his career.
鈥淚 feel like I've really built my career on hosting,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚 hate the phrase tee-up the analyst. Anybody can do that. A good host is prepared for the conversation and knows where the lines are.
He added: 鈥淢y first priority is 鈥楪ameDay.鈥� I still get a rush every time. I like being at the command
鈥淐ollege GameDay鈥� had a very different vibe last year as the coronavirus pandemic forced the show to be held on location but without fans. The threat of COVID-19 led to Corso, 85, doing the show from his home in Florida.
鈥淐ollege GameDay鈥� faced competition for the first time the last two seasons from Fox's 鈥淏ig Noon Kickoff," but ESPN's show has remained on top in terms of viewership.
鈥淭he best way to do it is to take care of your business and not be fixated on what someone else does and to be be confident and thorough in the direction you've tried to go into to,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚f you start trying to react to someone else, that's more detrimental than helpful in my opinion.
鈥漌e still want to be regarded as the ultimate destination and if you turn away from our show, you're going to miss something."
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Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Ralph D. Russo, The Associated Press
