No matter who basks in the confetti and lifts the trophy on Championship Monday, history will be made on January 19 on ESPN. There are several ESPN commentators with ties to the teams, the universities and the host city as Indiana and Miami prepare for the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Student Spotlight:
- Indiana
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- Joe Buck – Monday Night Football
- Shae Cornette – First Take
- Courtney Cronin – NFL Nation Chicago Bears reporter
- Heather Dinich – ESPN college football insider
- Miami
- Kevin Clark – Host, This Is Football
- Danny Graves – ACC Network baseball analyst
- Mark Richt – ACC Network football analyst
- Amina Smith – SportsCenter anchor
- Christine Williamson – SportsCenter anchor & Women’s College GameDay host
Team Throwbacks:
Mark Richt, a football letterwinner for the Hurricanes who backed up QB legends Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar and Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde, also led his alma mater from 2016-18. In three seasons as UM head coach, Richt was named ACC Coach of the Year and Walter Camp Coach of the Year, and he led the Canes to their first ACC Coastal title.
Earlier in her career, Inside ACCess co-host and ESPN.com senior writer Andrea Adelson was a Miami beat reporter for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. She covered the Canes extensively during their last national title run in 2001, culminating in the 2001 BCS National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl.
Miami Meetups:
A quartet of ESPN college football commentators call Miami home. Chris Fowler, who will call his 12th CFP title game, lives part of the year in Miami. College GameDay Built by The Home Depot analyst Desmond Howard has resided in the 305 for decades and is proudly featured in this year’s CFP game program to share more about his south Florida ties. ABC/ESPN booth pairing Jesse Palmer and Joe Tessitore both call the Miami area home at least part time.
