Live from A-Town: ESPN Studio Coverage of the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T Begins Friday

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SEC Network Studio Release

• More Than 30 Hours Across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and SEC Network
• All Day Coverage Monday, Jan. 8, Leading up to National Championship
• Guests to Include Auburn Head Coach Gus Malzahn, Nebraska Head Coach Scott Frost, Texas A&M Head Coach Jimbo Fisher and Others

ESPN is heading back to where the season began, as the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T, featuring Georgia and Alabama on Monday, Jan. 8 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) in Atlanta, concludes an exciting 2017 season. Studio coverage will begin from Atlanta on Friday, Jan. 5, with more than 30 hours across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and SEC Network leading up to the national title game.

ESPN and SEC Network studio shows will be live from several locations throughout the weekend, including Centennial Olympic Park, International Plaza, Philips Arena, the College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience and the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Commentators providing all the news and updates from downtown Atlanta include hosts Rece Davis, Kevin Negandhi, Joe Tessitore, Adnan Virk, analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, David Pollack, Todd McShay, Joey Galloway, Jesse Palmer, Mack Brown, Booger McFarland and Tim Tebow, and reporters Maria Taylor, Tom Rinaldi and Gene Wojciechowski.

Championship Monday – Jan. 8

Leading up to the national championship game, ESPN will have day-long coverage from Atlanta, beginning at 6 a.m. on ESPN2 with Golic and Wingo for their first remote show, live from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, as well as SportsCenter hits from the stadium and Centennial Olympic Park. The day continues on ESPN with College Football Live Built by The Home Depot (1:30 p.m.), College GameDay Built by The Home Depot (3 p.m.), and moves into the stadium for Championship Drive (6 p.m.) and College Football Pregame (7:30 p.m.).

Additional programming includes Road to the CFP (4 p.m.), College Football Coaches Film Room: Pregame (5 – 6:30 p.m.) and CFP Field Pass (6:30 p.m.), all on ESPN2.

Jason Fitz and Mike Golic Jr. will host Championship Drive Live at 7 p.m., streaming live on Twitter via the @ESPNCFB handle prior to kickoff. A number of special guests will join the show, including pregame performer Zac Brown Band and Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts. It is the eighth show of the season for Fitz and Golic Jr., following the six-episode CFP Rankings Reaction show and Championship Drive Live on January 1. Combined, the shows reached nearly 6.5 million viewers on Twitter.

Fans can also relive Alabama and Georgia’s wins in the College Football Playoff Semifinals, with reairs of the Allstate Sugar Bowl (7 a.m. & 3:30 p.m.) and Rose Bowl presented by Northwestern Mutual (4 a.m. & 12:30 p.m..) on ESPNU.

Live from Media Day

Host Kevin Negandhi, analysts Booger McFarland, Jesse Palmer and Joey Galloway, with reporters Maria Taylor (Georgia) and Tom Rinaldi (Alabama) will have extensive coverage on Saturday, Jan. 6, from Media Days at Philips Arena from 7 a.m. – noon on SportsCenter. SEC Now will also be live from Media Days, with coverage from 9 a.m. to noon on SEC Network, with Dari Nowkhah, Greg McElroy, Tim Tebow and David Pollack.

Additional coverage details

• SportsCenter: SportsCenter on the Road will be live from Atlanta on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, following the NFL Wild Card game, anchors John Buccigross and Steve Levy will be joined by ESPN NFL analyst Darren Woodson and college analysts Jesse Palmer and Booger MacFarland. On Sunday, Buccigross and Levy will host the 11 p.m. show with Woodson and College GameDay’s David Pollack, Maria Taylor, Tom Rinaldi, and college football analyst Jon Vilma. In addition to the Saturday and Sunday shows, SportsCenter will provide live segments from Atlanta throughout the weekend for both the morning and night shows. Reporters Coley Harvey (Georgia) and Marty Smith (Alabama) will join Taylor and Rinaldi live from Media Day in Atlanta on Saturday morning.
• ESPN Radio: Golic and Wingo, ESPN Radio’s morning drive program hosted by Mike Golic and Trey Wingo, with Mike Golic Jr., will bring with them the Golic and Wingo Bus presented by Progressive Insurance to Atlanta for a live broadcast from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in advance of the national championship, on Monday, Jan. 8, from 6-10 a.m. ET. The show, which will welcome guests on-set, will air from inside the stadium’s concourse near Gate 2 and will be open to the public. Doors open at 5 a.m., and a valid ID is required for entrance. Additional details on ESPN Radio’s comprehensive coverage of the national championship will be announced later this week.
• College Football Live
  • Hosts: Joe Tessitore and Adnan Virk
  • Analysts: Booger McFarland, Jon Vilma, Joey Galloway, Greg McElroy, Jesse Palmer
  • Reporters: Maria Taylor, Tom Rinaldi, Gene Wojciechowski
• College GameDay Built by The Home Depot
  • Host: Rece Davis
  • Analysts: Desmond Howard, Pollack, Tebow, Palmer, Galloway, McFarland
  • Reporters: Taylor, Rinaldi, Wojciechowski
  • Guests: Former UCF head coach and new Nebraska head coach Scott Frost, Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher, Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey
• Championship Drive: Davis, joined by Howard, Lee Corso, Pollack, Herbstreit, Tebow, Palmer, Mack Brown, Joey Galloway, Frost, Malzahn and Fisher, with reporters Taylor, Rinaldi and Wojciechowski
• CFP Field Pass Featuring Team Warmups: Pregame Field Pass brings viewers the pregame atmosphere inside the stadium and at field level starting 90 minutes before kickoff. Joe Tessitore and Adam Amin anchor the coverage as the Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs take the field for pregame routines and warmups. The duo will be joined by numerous guests on hand for the SEC matchup.
• SEC Nation Presented by AT&Tcloses out an exciting fall with a full pre-game show from Atlanta, providing expert SEC opinion and analysis from host Laura Rutledge, analysts Tim Tebow, Marcus Spears and Paul Finebaum, and reporter Lauren Sisler. The SEC Nation crew will be joined for additional insight throughout the evening from Greg McElroy, Gene Chizik and Booger McFarland. SEC Nation Presented by AT&T goes live at 6 p.m. from the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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