ESPN host Rece Davis is staying put after a reported pursuit by Fox Sports.
ESPN has reached a seven-year contract extension with “College Gameday” host Rece Davis, holding off a challenge from Fox Sports, according to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Per Marchand, Fox planned to make Davis its lead college football and FIFA World Cup studio host, replacing Rob Stone in both instances. He would also have called college basketball.
Davis instead took a “hometown discount” to remain with ESPN, though his deal will still be worth “tens of millions of dollars.”
Davis, who joined ESPN in 1996, has hosted the football version of “College Gameday” since 2015. He also hosts the basketball version of the program and calls the occasional game.
For Fox, poaching Davis from ESPN would have had the dual impact of strengthening its “Big Noon Saturday Kickoff” pregame and weakening “Gameday” at a time when the gap between the two shows is apparently growing. “Gameday” had its most-watched season on record last year. Fox already has a number of former ESPN personalities on its college football roster, including Chris “The Bear” Fallica.
The network’s push for Davis would seem to be a sign that it is looking beyond Stone — its main college sports and soccer host — ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will take place primarily in the United States.
