The University of Oregon will host ESPN's "College GameDay" for the fifth-straight year when the on-campus pregame show comes to Eugene this week for No. 2 Oregon's showdown with No. 12 UCLA on Saturday.
The football pregame show that has made Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit household names will be in UO’s Memorial Quad by Thursday morning – two and a half days before kickoff on Saturday.
The Memorial Quadrangle is the grass area between the Knight Library (south) and Lillis Business Complex (north), and Prince Lucien Campbell and Condon halls (west) and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and Chapman Hall (east) on the west side of campus near 13th Avenue and Kincaid Street.
Interim Provost Scott Coltrane asked colleagues to report any scheduled activities in buildings surrounding the quad – particularly if they are not on the campus master schedule – so that any potential conflicts can be ironed out. But he didn't expect any major disruptions.
“This will be ESPN College GameDay’s eighth visit to our campus. Given the success in previous years of staging on the Memorial Quad, and the dedicated efforts of UO staff, we anticipate another positive experience,” said Coltrane.
ESPN crews will set up on Thursday and Friday; however, impact to classes and other campus activities will be minimized. As in past years, the schedule of set-up activity will work around the busy class change time just prior to the top of each hour to ensure safety for all.
The Johnson Hall parking lot will be closed to all reserved permit parking and visitor permits from 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23, through Saturday afternoon, Oct. 26.
Additional details for fans planning to attend the live Saturday morning broadcast are here.
Oregon has a 5-2 record when hosting GameDay with wins over Arizona State University in 2011, Stanford in 2010, USC in 2009, Arizona State University in 2007 and UCLA in 2000. The Ducks’ home losses were to Stanford last fall and California in 2007. College GameDay most recently featured Oregon earlier this month in its game in Seattle at Washington, which the Ducks won 45-24.
This will be the 18th time overall that Oregon has been featured on College GameDay. The Ducks have also appeared in games at Stanford and at Arizona State in 2011, at Oregon State and USC in 2010, at Arizona in 2009 and at UCLA in 1998. ESPN College GameDay also aired Oregon’s appearances in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Ariz., the 2012 and 2010 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., and against LSU in the Cowboys Classic in Arlington, Texas, in 2011.
-- Office of Strategic Communications