Pat McAfee furious with Utah as university mocks him with controversial videoSahil Kurup Tue, October 27, 2026 at 10:46 AM UTC
Pat McAfee was furious with the University of Utah (Image: Getty Images)
Pat McAfee was all smiles for the cameras Saturday morning in Salt Lake City, but come Monday, he admitted he was thoroughly miserable.
The College GameDay analyst disclosed on his daily program that he "did not enjoy" his time at the University of Utah, where the show aired ahead of the Utes' clash with Houston.
McAfee, who was irritated by the College GameDay kicker in Utah, blamed the problem on a clip the university's official Instagram page posted right before he went on air, showing students being asked to mimic him. In the footage, which has now been deleted, one student called him "corny."
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"If these kids would have done this on their own blogs, all good," McAfee said. "Everybody's taking shots at me anyways for everything. I get it. The university puts that out? Like as I'm about to go out and do an infomercial for the place? It's an uncomfortable feeling."
The content was developed by Utah Student Experience and posted to the university's primary account, rather than being created by the institution directly, a distinction McAfee didn't mention. It was among multiple student clips rolled out prior to the broadcast.
McAfee is one of ESPN's biggest stars (Image: Getty Images)
He then made a comparison that drew significant attention. McAfee referenced the assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University last September, asking whether "anything really scary" had taken place at a college event in Utah recently and whether a university should be "amplifying reasons for why people hate my guts."
He went on to say: "What happened 40 miles south of Salt Lake City a little over a year ago?"
During his weekly 'Kicking is Easy' segment, which awards a student $1 million for successfully converting a 33-yard field goal, Utah junior Morgan Boring asked why the prize wasn't $3 million, as it had been at BYU the previous week.
That amount was increased because billionaire Ryan Smith and a business partner matched McAfee's contribution. McAfee's tone changed. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, there were two billionaires on the side," he said. "Actually, you know what, how about $20?"
He later explained he was joking and provided words of encouragement. Her kick came up short. Viewers detected his annoyance, with one observing the "$20" comment "tells you he was irritated."
McAfee later described her response as "like, all right, I hate this place."
The demeanor persisted with his prediction. McAfee chose Houston, a selection Utah fans greeted with boos, and finished with: "Thank you, guys. I'll never see you again, hopefully."
On Monday, he disclosed he had expressed his sentiments to Kirk Herbstreit in advance. "I walked up to that set and said, 'I think I hate this place,'" McAfee said.
He also emphasized his hesitation about returning. "I think I have COVID or something whenever GameDay goes back, if I'm still a part of GameDay," he said.
Nevertheless, he offered high praise for the broadcast. "It was a phenomenal GameDay. Thank you to everybody that showed up," he said.
Source: Sports
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