Pat McAfee never wants to go back to the University of Utah. He did not appreciate how the University encouraged hateful rhetoric on its official Instagram page just moments before he went out on stage for College Gameday.
The video has since been deleted.
McAfee does not care what people think about him. He understands that there “a lot of things about him” that people don’t like him. Some college football fans embrace him more than others and that is what it is. His gripe is only with the University.
(Before someone inevitably gets upset in my email or DMs, I do understand that, from a journalistic perspective, the word “university” should not be capitalized on its own. I do not care. It it helps to make the point!)
The University of Utah posted about Pat McAfee on Instagram.
College Gameday made its seventh appearance at the University of Utah on Saturday for a top-15 matchup against the University of Houston. Not long before Rece Davis’ cold open, @universityofutah posted the following video on Instagram:
— – (@Spicoli_____) October 26, 2026
The video, which has since been deleted, featured the caption: “Best @patmcafeeshow impression? We got U!”
It did not go over well with Pat McAfee, who made reference to the post when he picked against the Utes on Saturday.
He spoke about his experience during the Pat McAfee Show on Monday while live from Philadelphia before Monday Night Football.
“Did not enjoy the University of Utah. You know why I didn’t like it? Right before I go out there, I see the University of Utah’s Instagram page. The University’s! They put out a video asking students to do an impression of Pat McAfee. One kid goes, ‘he’s corny.’ Another kid calls me ‘creepy!'”
McAfee couldn’t believe it. The content of the video was one thing. The timing of the video was another.
“If these kids would’ve done this on their own blogs, all good. I mean, everybody’s taking shots at me anyway for everything. I get it. If the two ladies who were hosting [the video] put that out on their own blog, I’d be okay with. Hey, you’re allowed to do what you want to do. The University puts that out? As I’m about to go out and do an infomercial for the place?!”
He was admittedly rattled as he walked on stage to film the show because of the post.
“I’m walking in front of thousands of these people. This is how the University feels about me? That’s an uncomfortable feeling. I’m getting a lot of shrapnel from a lot of places. The University is putting this out?! That is something I had never experienced in my entire life so it kind of set me off a little bit. It made me feel a little bit mute. It made me feel a little bit weird.”
To make matters worse, the female student who was selected to kick a field goal for $1 million of Pat McAfee’s money sounded ungrateful. She quipped that the field goal kicker at BYU got $3 million as if $1 million was not enough!
This kick will be for ONE MILLION DOLLARS..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 24, 2026
I HOPE MORGAN MAKES IT
NO GOOD #CollegeGameDay pic.twitter.com/0uDIpYIeCD
That was the final straw for McAfee.
“So, it was just a lot of mixed feelings for me going out there. And then, obviously, the kicker goes, ‘Only one million?’ Of my money! ‘Only one million dollars?’ It’s like, alright, I hate this place.”
He vowed to never return.
“I’ll hopefully never go to that place. I think I [will be sick] or something whenever Gameday goes back if I’m still a part of Gameday. I did not enjoy the morning there.”
The location of the College Gameday broadcast also played a role in McAfee’s discomfort. It was filmed in Salt Lake City…
Charlie Kirk’s assassination crossed his mind before College Gameday.
Pat McAfee did not appreciate the Instagram post from the University of Utah.
“I saw a lot of people saying that they didn’t even say anything that bad. It was the University putting that out.”
His made it abundantly clear that his issue was not as much what was said, but who posted it and when.
“But I’ve never been more uncomfortable, honestly in my life, walking in front of a group of people after watching the University put out a post basically dogging me just moments before.”
He is not holding the Instagram post against the fanbase or the football program but he was shocked by the source.
“They do have an incredible student section and they have a good football team. So I’m pretty impressed. Just didn’t like the University taking a shot at me. New York Times, do what you gotta do, I guess […] but you’ve got people out there that really hate my guts.”
McAfee also thought about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
“And then I thought to myself, ‘Has anything really scary happenened at a college gathering in the state of Utah recently?’ Do you think we should be amplifying reasons for why people hate my guts as a University?! I don’t know!”
Kirk was tragically killed at Utah Valley University in Orem, which is located less than 50 miles from the University of Utah.
“The University gaslighting some of it right as I go out there to talk about your school, especially after what happened about 40 miles south a little bit over a year ago, I did not enjoy that. I was very uncomfortable.”
I cannot say it enough. McAfee does not care what you say about him. He might read it. He might not like it. But he doesn’t care. ESPN is paying him a lot of money to play a big role with the network. He could not be more grateful for the opportunity.
However, there are a lot of people that wish ill upon him for absolutely no reason. McAfee did not appreciate that the University of Utah’s official Instagram account gave those specific people an extra reason to target him. You can watch the full video here:
🚨 Pat McAfee GOES OFF on the University of Utah 😳
— Bill (@Billgetzfroggy) October 26, 2026
He says he’s never felt so uncomfortable, even bringing up what happened at UVU last year.
“I did not enjoy the University of Utah.”
HOLY SMOKES 💀 pic.twitter.com/YCXQPM3vEH
Can you blame him for being upset?