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Pat McAfee Boosts Jello Shot Challenge For West Virginia Despite Poor Treatment At College World Series Bar

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Pat McAfee Jello Shot Challenge Rocco's College World Series
iStockphoto / Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images, Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Pat McAfee made amends with Rocco’s and contributed to the Jello Shot Challenge at the College World Series. The Omaha-based bar received a massive monetary boost from the ESPN personality in the name of West Virginia University.

His large financial donation was in direct defiance of the head football coach in Morgantown.

Rich Rodriguez wanted McAfee to give his money to the college football program instead of a random bar in a city more than 950 miles away from campus. It was especially surprising to see him write a check on Friday after his poor treatment on Thursday.

Rocco’s ruined the Jello Shot Challenge at the College World Series.

If you are not already familiar with this phenomenon, let me explain. Rocco’s Pizza and Cantina is located right across the street from Charles Schwab Field, home to the College World Series. Literally. It is directly across the street.

Therefore, Rocco’s became the most common gathering place for college baseball fans before (and after) games. The Jello Shot Challenge was formally introduced in 2019. The concept is simple.

All eight schools that make the College World Series are listed on a scoreboard. Fans at each school compete to buy the most jello shots. That’s it. The school whose buy the most shots over the duration of the tournament wins the Rocco’s Jello Shot Challenge.

What started as a fun gimmick very quickly became a viral sensation. Each shot now costs $5. $1 is donated to the specific university’s local food bank. $0.50 goes to a local Omaha-area nonprofit. The remaining $3.50 goes to the bar.

Unfortunately, the Jello Shot Challenge has lost a lot of its luster in the last few years. It is not fun anymore. First and foremost, Rocco’s switched to premade, prepackaged shots that come in box and were likely purchased at wholesale. Gross.

If that is not disappointing enough, big business has ruined the entire point of the challenge!

Fans used to buy shots for themselves to expedite their buzz before first pitch. Now it is a competition among high-profile boosters like Todd Graves. These money men buy shots in bulk just to put a bigger number on the board. It’s a great thing for the fans who get to “drink” (chew) for free but not for the spirit of competition. Super lame.

Pat McAfee took the high road!

West Virginia made the College World Series for the first time in program history in 2026. Pat McAfee, who is perhaps the most prominent voice for the university, brought his daily television show to Omaha on Friday.

His first experience with Rocco’s and the Jello Shot Challenge was an overwhelming disappointment. McAfee and his crew arrived to the bar on Thursday evening. He was prepared to spend a lot of money on shots to get the Mountaineers to the top of the leaderboard. He wanted to help his alma mater break the record set by LSU.

It did not go according to plan. McAfee was treated poorly by the manager at Rocco’s. He spoke about the encounter on his show.

Not only did McAfee leave the bar with a sour taste in his mouth — that was not from the store-bought Jello — his former head coach wanted him to reevaluate his spending. Rich Rodriguez would’ve preferred that money go to his program instead of jello.

I watched the Pat McAfee Show in full on Friday, as I normally do. He spoke poorly about his experience at Rocco’s throughout the entire broadcast. It kept coming up. Rodriguez kept trying to get his former specialist to give his money to the Mountaineers.

There was a tangible tension between the McAfee crew and the bar but that did not stop him from going back! They made their return to Rocco’s on Friday afternoon and took the high road. McAfee gave the largest tip the bar had ever seen even though he was thoroughly disappointed with how he was treated by the manager on Thursday and the Jello Shot Challenge overall.

Shoutout to Pat. He could’ve cratered the entire revenue stream for Rocco’s by calling for a boycott. He decided to instead reward the employees for working hard throughout the busiest week of the year. Class move.