ESPN’s College GameDay is returning to Gonzaga on Saturday for the first time since 2009.
GameDay’s visit will put a brighter spotlight on the Gonzaga-Saint Mary’s showdown at 7 p.m. at the McCarthey Athletic Center that could decide the West Coast Conference championship.
ESPN’s popular GameDay program usually originates from a campus arena and highlights one of the biggest games of the day. The announcement GameDay was returning to Spokane came during the show’s broadcast Saturday morning from Allen Fieldhouse at the University of Kansas. The fifth-ranked Jayhawks entertained No. 9 Baylor later in the day.
GameDay’s last visit to Gonzaga was on Feb. 7, 2009. The show was broadcast from the McCarthey Athletic Center, but the GU-Memphis game was played later at the Spokane Arena. The Tigers won 68-50.
GameDay’s first visit to the Kennel was on Feb. 11, 2006. Gonzaga edged Stanford 80-76.
Gonzaga has been part of five previous GameDay shows, the past three involving GU road games. The most recent was in 2017, when No. 1 Gonzaga defeated No. 18 Saint Mary’s 74-64, in Moraga, California. The Zags fell to Butler 64-63 in Indianapolis in 2013 and lost to Memphis 60-54 in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2014.
Rece Davis hosts GameDay. He’s joined by analysts Jay Bilas, Seth Greenberg and LaPhonso Ellis. Bilas will join Dan Shulman and reporter Holly Rowe on the call of the Gonzaga-Saint Mary’s game.
The game is sold out, but fans can attend the morning show for free. Gonzaga students had a chance Saturday night to claim a ticket to the show . Gonzaga faculty and staff can claim a ticket at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Similar to Kraziness in the Kennel ticketing, fans can claim a ticket online for free beginning at noon Tuesday. Tickets are all general admission and don’t reserve a specific seat. Fans are encouraged to bring signs and a sign-making station will be available on the concourse.
Doors open for the show at 6 a.m. for Gonzaga students and 6:15 a.m. for general public. The two-hour shows begins at 7 a.m.
Parking during College GameDay is free, but vehicles must be moved by 11 a.m. when game-day parking enforcement will take effect as normal.