SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Pat McAfee said he “did not enjoy the University of Utah” after “College GameDay” visited the Utes’ campus for their matchup against Houston.
McAfee said a University of Utah social media post made him uncomfortable before the show on Saturday. The post featured students doing impressions of McAfee. One called him “corny,” while another called him “creepy,” he claimed.
“If these kids would have done this on their own blogs, all good,” McAfee said. “The university puts that out, like, as I’m about to go out and do an infomercial for the place, and then I’m walking in front of thousands of these people. This is how the university feels about it.”
McAfee said he saw the video shortly before appearing on “College GameDay” and had never experienced anything like it.
He also took issue with a Utah student comparing the $1 million prize in “College GameDay’s” kicking contest in Salt Lake City with the $3 million won by a BYU student for a kick.
“Then obviously the kicker goes, “Only $1 million, only $1 million.” It’s like, all right, I hate this place. I hate this place. They got a good football team, though. They got a good football team,” he said.
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“I’ve never been more uncomfortable, honestly, in my life walking in front of a group of people after watching their university put out a post basically dogging me just moments before,” McAfee said.
McAfee also questioned whether the university should amplify reasons people might dislike him, referencing the deadly incident at Utah Valley University.
“But the university gaslighting some of it right before I go out there to talk about your school, especially with what happened 40 miles south of Salt Lake City a little over a year ago, it’s like I did not enjoy that. I was very, very uncomfortable,” McAfee said.
Pat McAfee said he “did not enjoy the University of Utah” after “College GameDay” visited the Utes’ campus for their matchup against Houston. (Photo: KUTV)
McAfee said he did not enjoy the morning and hoped he would not have to return to the school for “College GameDay.” He still praised the event, the student section and the football team.
“I’ll hopefully never go to that place. I think I have COVID or something whenever game day goes back if I’m still a part of game day. But I did not enjoy the morning there,” McAfee said.
“They got a good football team, though,” he said.
The University of Utah released the following statement:
“The University of Utah is grateful to have had the chance to welcome Pat McAfee and the entire ESPN College GameDay crew to campus. ESPN College GameDay has visited our campus seven times and we have always enjoyed a terrific relationship and positive experiences with the entire crew.
Our goal during the visit was to create lighthearted engagement regarding Pat being back on campus, but we missed the mark. University staff are responsible for reviewing and posting content on official social media accounts and we take full accountability for that decision.
University officials have reached out to Pat to express appreciation and regret.
We sincerely apologize for creating any perception that Pat was unsafe or unwelcome on our campus. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Pat and the entire GameDay crew are always welcome at the University of Utah and we deeply appreciate the opportunity ESPN provides to showcase our university and community.”
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