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ESPN has made its first move following the announcement of its ESPN BET gambling platform. College GameDay, the network’s popular college football pregame show, will add a new member in 2023.
‘Stanford Steve’ Coughlin, a sports betting analyst, will join the crew to offer viewers his weekly “gambling expertise and best bets.”
GameDay announced the addition with a welcome post on its social media outlets just three weeks ahead of the start of the college football season.
Welcome to the squad, @StanfordSteve82 🤝
He’ll join the show each week to share his gambling expertise and best bets 🏈 pic.twitter.com/c3ytQEsZxb
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) August 10, 2023
The news comes shortly after the network revealed a massive deal with PENN Entertainment to launch a new sports betting platform. The Worldwide Leader in Sports has been looking to get into the gambling business since its legalization. We’ve seen the company shift in many ways to highlight betting content, including in its College GameDay show.
Previously, Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica provided fans with his weekly insights, which included potential upsets and picks against the spread. Fallica has since moved over to FOX.
Stanford Steve appears to be sliding into The Bear’s role.
ESPN BET is set to launch this fall, taking the place of former PENN Entertainment partner Barstool Sports. After selling the media company back to founder Dave Portnoy for just $1, a press release revealed a $2 billion agreement with ESPN.
A reported $1.5 billion will be distributed over 10 years.
College football fans were quick to react to the news online as they posted their responses on social media. Most were pleased with the addition.
Congratulations and welcome to the family @StanfordSteve82 . I was hoping you would be on the show permanently. You meshed well with the guys last year. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
— Stephanie Blackwell (@Steph_Bwell) August 10, 2023
“Stanford Steve” LETS GO. Cue the music at 6am. It’s GAMEDAY.
— Cole Keener (@Colekeen24) August 10, 2023
It will be interesting to see how ESPN moves into the gambling world in the future. This College GameDay addition looks like the first step.