{"id":885644,"date":"2026-10-17T15:32:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T15:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/885644\/"},"modified":"2026-10-17T15:32:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T15:32:19","slug":"what-espns-religious-sign-ban-means-at-byu-vs-notre-dame-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/885644\/","title":{"rendered":"What ESPN\u2019s religious sign ban means at BYU vs. Notre Dame \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last weekend, a young woman named Brecca Stoll, reporting on behalf of Ben Shapiro\u2019s Daily Wire, snapped a photo and shared<\/a> it on X. It showed a scoreboard at the Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where a raucous crowd, driven indoors by the approaching remnant of Hurricane Isaias, had gathered ahead of a top 10 clash between the Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs.<\/p>\n

\u201cCollege GameDay,\u201d ESPN\u2019s flagship Saturday morning college football pregame show known for funny, wacky, sometimes inappropriate audience-made posters, was responsible for the gathering, and Stoll\u2019s photo showed the show\u2019s long-standing rules, spelled out in white block letters above center court:<\/p>\n

\u201cNo food or drink\u201d\u201cNo vulgar signs\u201d\u201cNo .com, QR codes, or # signs\u201d\u201cNo political signs\u201d\u201cNo religious signs\u201d\u201cNo bags, no purses\u201d\u201cNo markers, pens, pencils, dry erase board\u201d\u201cNo throwing objects\u201d\u201cAll person\u2019s entering are subject to search\u201d<\/p>\n

Stoll had scratched a red oval around the middle of the list. \u201cCollege GameDay says \u2018no religious signs,\u2019\u201d she captioned. Her post earned 14 retweets and 72 likes, along with a handful of comments heaping shame on ESPN for supposedly stifling Christian expression. The post also garnered a disproportionate 180,000-plus views, aided in part by Jon Root, a \u201ccontent creator\/writer\u201d for Outkick, a conservative sports and culture website owned by Fox. <\/p>\n

He shared Stoll\u2019s post and wrote a story about it. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t go as far as calling this religious persecution,\u201d he admitted. Rather, his issue was about uneven enforcement of the rule, which ESPN claimed had been in place for a long time. It was, indeed, a puzzling explanation. <\/p>\n

Anyone who watches \u201cCollege GameDay\u201d on a regular basis knows religious signs are common, if not an outright expectation. They\u2019re often large and loud, written in neon green or yellow and positioned strategically to make them difficult to ignore. Love them or hate them, they\u2019re there, broadcast after broadcast, and have been for years. <\/p>\n

\"\"A Notre Dame fan holds a sign bearing a photo of Pope Francis during an NCAA college football game against Virginia, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015, in Charlottesville, Va. | Andrew Shurtleff, Associated Press <\/p>\n

Yet this weekend, whether the sincere, overt, somewhat routine signs in the key of \u201cturn toward Jesus\u201d or \u201cJesus saves\u201d make an appearance or not, they won\u2019t be needed to probe the intersection of religious expression and corporate policy that led to last week\u2019s dustup. <\/p>\n

When the show heads to Provo for another top 10 matchup, this one between BYU and Notre Dame, it will mark the first broadcast of \u201cGameDay\u201d from BYU since 2009, and its first ever from a clash between the nation\u2019s two most prominent religious football programs. <\/p>\n

A laboratory, in other words, to test ESPN\u2019s \u201cNo religious signs\u201d policy as never before. <\/p>\n

Rainbow Man and his heirs<\/p>\n

Before the banners declaring \u201cCall out to Jesus\u201d or \u201cJust talk to Jesus,\u201d there was Rollen Stewart, aka \u201cRockn\u2019 Rollen,\u201d aka \u201cRainbow Man.\u201d <\/p>\n

In the 1970s and 1980s, Stewart was a visionary ahead of his time; a sort of \u201cMarlins Man<\/a>\u201d before Marlins Man, who made a national name for himself by courting the attention of TV cameras at major sporting events. Stewart was known for his rainbow wig, a beard that dangled like Spanish moss and, most of all, for a white T-shirt with black letters that always spelled out a Christian message \u2014 most often, and most famously, \u201cJohn 3:16.\u201d <\/p>\n

Florida Gators legend Tim Tebow would later make that Bible verse even more iconic in the sports world when he scrawled it onto his eye black during Florida\u2019s 2009 National Championship victory over Oklahoma, touching off a debate over the link between sports and faith that rages to this day. <\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t clear when the first overtly Christian sign appeared on \u201cCollege GameDay,\u201d but Reddit users have been complaining about it for a long time. <\/p>\n

One post<\/a> from five years ago, shared in the \u201cCFBmemes\u201d community, used a Lisa Simpson meme format to say, \u201cban all religion signs from College Gameday.\u201d Nine years ago, another user in the \u201cCFB\u201d community shared<\/a> that he\u2019d recently attended \u201cGameDay\u201d at Penn State and that \u201cthe place was littered with (Jesus) signs\u201d \u2014 despite, he noted, the posted warnings about \u201cno religious signs.\u201d So the signs themselves, and ESPN\u2019s policy, have been around for at least a decade. <\/p>\n

Yet both the signs and the policy persist. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that people see that there\u2019s light and darkness in the world, and they\u2019re doing their best in whatever way they can to be a light.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2014 \u00a0Will Dawson, Christian Broadcasting Network<\/p>\n

One explanation for the apparent dissonance is that the prohibition of religious signs, as well as ESPN\u2019s other prohibitions, are only enforced in \u201cThe Pit,\u201d the area directly behind the broadcast. But given the prevalence and prominence of religious signs generally, that effectively makes the policy toothless. <\/p>\n

Plus, ESPN has stepped in to remove other inappropriate signs from outside The Pit \u2014 most notoriously the multiple times fans have raised banners using \u201cESPN\u201d to refer to the male anatomy.<\/p>\n

When the show made its only other appearance in Provo, ahead of a 2009 matchup between BYU and the TCU Horned Frogs, signs included<\/a> \u201cD-Day: The invasion of Mormandy\u201d; \u201cMormons eat frog eyes in their Jello salad\u201d; and \u201cHorny toads aren\u2019t even Christian.\u201d It isn\u2019t clear whether these signs would be considered \u201creligious\u201d under ESPN\u2019s policy. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked with (\u201cGameDay\u201d) on the sign standards,\u201d a BYU spokesman told the Deseret News. \u201cAnd I can confirm that religion is a category we talked about with their staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

A follow-up question on how \u201creligion\u201d was defined on a broadcast celebrating a game between two religious schools received no response. And perhaps reasonably so.<\/p>\n

\"\"Former BYU football coach LaVell Edwards is interviewed by ESPN’s Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit during the ESPN “College GameDay” broadcast in Provo. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News <\/p>\n

This subject is tricky, this week more than ever. The question of where sports and religion should intersect has been bickered over since at least the era of Rollen \u201cRainbow Man\u201d Stewart, because where some see a welcome revival, others perceive an annoying distraction, and it can be difficult to transcend tribal allegiances and reactionary takes to see things as they are beneath the surface. <\/p>\n

Stewart, for instance, eventually had a breakdown<\/a> that led to kidnapping convictions and three life sentences. Should his activism be remembered for its pioneering use of sports to celebrate a religious cause, or as a cautionary tale?<\/p>\n

Similarly in the present, ahead of BYU-Notre Dame, what does ESPN\u2019s prohibition of religious signs protect \u2014 and, potentially, erase?<\/p>\n

\"\"Utah fans wave flags and hold up signs during ESPN\u2019s \u201cCollege GameDay\u201d at Presidents Circle at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News What counts as religious?<\/p>\n

A few weeks before last week\u2019s controversy, Christian Broadcasting Network\u2019s Will Dawson, host of a Christian sports podcast called \u201cFuel the Fire,\u201d published a video<\/a> that foretold what was to come. Titled \u201cA Jesus moment is sweeping college sports,\u201d Dawson explained that players, coaches and fans of college football are becoming much more vocal about their faith this season \u2014 especially on \u201cCollege GameDay.\u201d<\/p>\n

His very first example pulled from a recent episode of the show in which, directly over host Nick Saban\u2019s shoulder, a sign written in white block letters reads, \u201cTo every underdog don\u2019t give up.\u201d Then, in Gatorade-green neon, \u201cFind hope in Jesus.\u201d Dawson framed this sign as part of a larger movement. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that people see that there\u2019s light and darkness in the world, and they\u2019re doing their best in whatever way they can to be a light,\u201d he tells the Deseret News. \u201cAnd I think those signs are part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the beauty, Dawson adds, of the First Amendment. It allows movements to build \u2014 even if he concedes ESPN isn\u2019t obligated to follow it. <\/p>\n

\u201cESPN can generally choose what appears in its broadcast,\u201d explains<\/a> a recent article by Freedom Forum discussing the legal ramifications of ESPN\u2019s sign bans, \u201cbut public universities remain subject to the First Amendment when regulating speech on campus.\u201d Private universities \u2014 like BYU and Notre Dame \u2014 don\u2019t have to follow the First Amendment, though for an event like \u201cGameDay,\u201d they\u2019re likely to do so regardless, just to embrace the spirit of the law. Should ESPN do the same? <\/p>\n

\u201cYou run into dangerous ground by censoring,\u201d Dawson adds, \u201cand that is essentially what (ESPN\u2019s policy) is: Censoring certain messages while allowing some (others).\u201d <\/p>\n

Yet Dawson\u2019s view is rooted in the proliferation of Christian signs, specifically. What about signs promoting Islam (which, as best as I can tell, has never happened on \u201cGameDay\u201d)? Would that change the equation? <\/p>\n

Plus, for BYU-Notre Dame, couldn\u2019t almost any branded T-shirt or ball cap be interpreted as \u201creligious\u201d? \u201cThe schools themselves are already religious symbols,\u201d says Cody Musselman, an assistant professor of American Studies at Notre Dame who specifically studies religion and sports. \u201cSo just having a Notre Dame or a BYU shirt on could be enough to communicate the religious mission of the institution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joseph Price, professor emeritus of religious studies at California\u2019s Whittier College, agrees that this presents a challenge for ESPN, especially just a week removed from its heaviest religious sign controversy in years. <\/p>\n

\u201cHow does ESPN define religion?\u201d he wonders. \u201cIs it simply the use of God language, or reference to a scripture passage? What about something like \u2018awe-inspiring\u2019? That could be understood as a religious expression, and yet will it be disallowed?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAwe-inspiring\u201d doesn\u2019t seem too likely to get written on a \u201cCollege GameDay\u201d sign, but what about something more culturally specific to Latter-day Saints or Catholics? A reference to \u201cThe Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,\u201d for example, or to Pope Leo XIV? \u201cThis is a conundrum at the heart of the Establishment Clause,\u201d Musselman says, referring to the First Amendment\u2019s guarantee to \u201cmake no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAre we having a secular space completely devoid of religion,\u201d Musselman adds, \u201cor are we having a secular space that is pluralistic and embracing very visibly of all religion?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"ESPN College GameDay comes to BYU in Provo on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Whose movement, exactly?<\/p>\n

The religious signs that have become common on \u201cCollege GameDay\u201d are not obviously denominational, and no single group has claimed responsibility for them \u2014 even though they often bear striking similarities. In general, though, they\u2019re of a born again\/evangelical character. They ask people to come to Jesus broadly, from wherever they are. <\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t necessarily exclude Latter-day Saints and Catholics, since both groups worship Jesus Christ. But it\u2019s also difficult to imagine either group putting up signs with similar messaging, or even messaging of their own \u2014 \u201c2 Nephi 2:25\u201d or \u201cPray the Rosary\u201d haven\u2019t made appearances on the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I was to think of where I\u2019d be more likely to see a proliferation of those signs, I think it would be places that are more deeply saturated in a white evangelical megachurch-ish or nondenominational Protestant kind of culture,\u201d says Matt Brown, a longtime college football reporter who runs the Extra Points newsletter<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s not really BYU and that\u2019s not really Notre Dame.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where the conversation gets really tricky. <\/p>\n

\u201cBoth (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and Catholics historically have been outsiders to the American religious mainstream,\u201d Musselman says. \u201cAnd so that\u2019s changed some of the ways that they might present themselves on a national stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, Catholics and Latter-day Saints are more likely to self-censor \u2014 and even if they did decide to lean in to the religious signs that have preceded them, would anyone come to their defense should ESPN enforce the ban against them? All of which helps explain why ESPN, which is trying to produce a fun, energetic college football pregame show, would have a prohibition against religious signs to begin with. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not discriminatory, this line of thinking goes \u2014 it\u2019s just trying to avoid distraction. <\/p>\n

\u201cA sign inviting you to come unto Christ, which may be valid in many other contexts, is not a college football joke,\u201d says Brown. \u201cIf you throw open the signs to any kind of possible thing, not only are you going to see a lot of religious and political signs \u2014 you\u2019re also going to see a lot of signs explicitly promoting other brands. People will see this as a guerrilla marketing opportunity. And if that becomes the backdrop, that does diminish what the show is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"BYU students wait in line for a spot to watch ESPN\u2019s \u201cCollege GameDay\u201d on the lawn at Heritage Halls on BYU campus in Provo on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News Part of the culture war?<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Outkick ran another story<\/a> about last weekend\u2019s viral post, interviewing Texas A&M fan and 40 Days For Life CEO Shawn Carney.<\/p>\n

He criticized ESPN, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s dumb corporate America doing what they often do all the time, which is decide that they just want to ban a group, and it\u2019s almost always Christians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Somehow, in the days leading up to a football game between two religious schools, the sign rules for \u201cCollege GameDay\u201d became part of the outrage machine that demands churning.<\/p>\n

Which, more than any principle or heady question about religious expression in the public square, might be the best explanation for last weekend\u2019s controversy. <\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the midterm election and the proliferation of bot traffic or explicitly manufactured outrage that exists on social media,\u201d Brown says, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be shocked if almost any kind of controversy over something that\u2019s been kind of ubiquitous for a while is not entirely organic.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the other hand, viewership for \u201cGameDay\u201d averages nearly 3 million. It means something to decide what\u2019s acceptable to express in such a forum, and how. Especially this weekend. <\/p>\n

Price, the Whittier scholar, says an old professor of his once defined an atheist as \u201csomeone who doesn\u2019t care about the outcome of BYU-Notre Dame.\u201d Perhaps a better definition to ponder heading into Saturday morning is what makes a college football fan, and what unites instead of divides them. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think what ESPN wants to do, which is, \u2018Let\u2019s make a show about college football and college football jokes,\u2019 is pretty defensible,\u201d Brown says. \u201cI get what they\u2019re trying to do. I also get that there\u2019s going to be entities that want to turn this into a culture war thing. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it has to be.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last weekend, a young woman named Brecca Stoll, reporting on behalf of Ben Shapiro\u2019s Daily Wire, snapped a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":885645,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[40544,399,398,396,397,99],"class_list":["post-885644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-byu-cougars","tag-football","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=885644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/885645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=885644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=885644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=885644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}