Everybody who watches sports activities has robust opinions in regards to the broadcast, particularly in faculty soccer, the place the networks can play a job in issues such because the growth of conferences or the promotion of sure leagues.
That is our fourth annual faculty soccer TV survey for The Athletic readers. Greater than 3,500 of you responded, in step with the everyday quantity in previous years. So what do you want and dislike? Listed below are the outcomes. (Some reader responses have been flippantly edited for readability.)
Community comparisons
Which community do you favor for nationwide recreation broadcasts?
ESPN/ABC: 63.4 percentCBS: 15.1 percentFox/FS1: 11.9 percentNBC: 7.6 percentTNT: 1.2 percentThe CW: 0.9 p.c
What’s your favourite convention community for video games?
Large Ten Community: 47.2 percentSEC Community: 39.4 percentACC Community: 13.3 p.c
Nationally, ESPN stays the overwhelming favourite, although its vote share noticed a small decline from final yr’s 67.8 p.c. Most of that distinction went to NBC, which is as much as 7.6 p.c from 4.8 p.c final yr. On the heels of its second yr broadcasting Large Ten video games (together with Notre Dame), NBC’s enhance in approval score was a theme on this survey.
Some reader feedback:
“I miss Large Ten video games on ESPN and ABC.”
“CBS’s setup is so skilled and comforting, I believe ESPN tries to do an excessive amount of.”
“TNT will get underrated video games and I actually love their scorebug.”
Announcers
Who’s your favourite broadcast crew?
Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe (ESPN): 32.3 percentSean McDonough, Greg McElroy and Molly McGrath (ESPN): 17.4 percentBrad Nessler, Gary Danielson and Jenny Dell (CBS): 13.5 percentGus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft (Fox): 12.9 percentNoah Eagle, Todd Blackledge and Kathryn Tappen (NBC): 5.5 percentJoe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer and Katie George (ESPN): 5.3 percentJason Benetti, Robert Griffin III and Alexa Landestoy (Fox): 3.1 percentBob Wischusen, Louis Riddick and Kris Budden (ESPN): 2.1 percentDave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek and Taylor McGregor (ESPN): 1.6 percentTom Hart, Jordan Rodgers and Cole Cubelic (SEC Community): 1.1 percentMatt Barrie, Tom Luginbill and Harry Lyles Jr. (ESPN): 1 percentTim Brando, Devin Gardner and Josh Sims (Fox): 1 percentWes Durham, Steve Addazio and Dana Boyle (ACC Community): 1 percentAll others lower than 1 p.c
Who’s your favourite faculty soccer TV analyst (broadcast or studio)?
Kirk Herbstreit (ESPN): 24.2 percentNick Saban (ESPN): 13.1 percentJoel Klatt (Fox): 8.7 percentGreg McElroy (ESPN): 6.5 percentGary Danielson (CBS): 5.8 percentTodd Blackledge (NBC): 4.9 percentNicole Auerbach (NBC): 4.7 percentRick Neuheisel (CBS): 4.2 percentPat McAfee (ESPN): 3.9 percentBruce Feldman (Fox): 3.7 percentJosh Pate (On3/Yahoo/ESPN): 2.7 percentDesmond Howard (ESPN): 2.4 percentBrady Quinn (Fox): 1.9 percentChris Petersen (Fox): 1.9 percentJoey Galloway (ESPN): 1.6 percentUrban Meyer (Fox): 1.5 percentPaul Finebaum (ESPN): 1.4 percentAll others lower than 1 p.c
Others receiving votes: Trevor Matich, Louis Riddick, Booger McFarland, Jesse Palmer, Cole Cubelic, Joshua Perry, Dave Portnoy, Brandon Walker, EJ Manuel, Heather Dinich, Jake Butt, Roddy Jones, Ross Tucker, Tom Fornelli, Bud Elliott, Yogi Roth, Dave Clawson, Robert Griffin III, Champ Bailey and extra.
ESPN’s No. 1 announcer crew stays atop the leaderboard however noticed a noticeable drop from 42.8 p.c final yr. The most important riser is the group of McDonough/McElroy/McGrath, up from 12 p.c final yr to 17.4 p.c and the No. 2 spot. There was additionally love for Nessler/Danielson/Dell of their last season collectively, as Danielson retired after the season. The highest Fox crew of Johnson/Klatt/Taft dropped from second to fourth however held the same share as final yr’s 13.6 p.c.
The person numbers for Herbstreit and Klatt additionally fell from final yr’s outcomes, with the numbers spreading round to extra folks — 10 people acquired not less than 3 p.c of the vote, in contrast with seven final yr. NBC’s Nicole Auerbach (previously of The Athletic) debuts on this listing at 4.7 p.c, for instance, and Rick Neuheisel virtually doubled his vote complete from final yr, as much as 4.2 p.c.
Some reader feedback:
“Very troublesome narrowing the announcers right down to just one. I like 4 or 5, however the perfect two are Sean McDonough and Jason Benetti.”
“Benetti is f-ing gold and wickedly humorous, McDonough isn’t afraid to criticize unhealthy teaching/officiating, calls an outstanding recreation and makes the identical observations I do. When you haven’t listened a lot to Wes Durham on ACC (and may abdomen the pitiful video games he will get), he’s the perfect PxP voice of this period. I want he known as main video games.”
“Wanting ahead to the brand new CBS faculty crew. For years, thought they’ve been the perfect on TV. Will miss Gary, however the addition of Charles Davis, for me, makes it the perfect crew on Saturday.”
“Louis Riddick is THE BEST analyst I’ve ever heard. He even made Kentucky-Iowa soccer bowl video games fascinating!”
“I’m a UGA fan however typically discover the ESPN SEC bias to be a bit a lot, significantly when Bama comes up. I don’t view any of the present CFB TV of us to be a must-watch for good or fascinating content material in comparison with the NFL the place it’s truly instructional. The podcast world in CFB is normally way more fascinating and informative/upfront in criticism. The TV of us all the time really feel scared to name something out like coach conduct.”
“If Kirk Herbstreit goes to sensibly chorus from predicting video games he’s going to name, then he must also chorus from lobbying so vociferously for Playoff inclusions and exclusions, as he’ll even be calling a number of of these video games.”
“I like the brand new crew on NBC for ND soccer video games.” (Dan Hicks, Jason Garrett and Zore Stephenson is the daytime crew)
Pregame reveals
Do you favor ESPN’s “Faculty GameDay” or Fox’s “Large Midday Kickoff”?
“Faculty GameDay”: 83.6 p.c“Large Midday Kickoff”: 16.4 p.c
How do you are feeling about Pat McAfee on “Faculty GameDay”?
Prefer it: 31.6 percentDon’t prefer it: 49.5 percentNo opinion: 18.9 p.c
How do you are feeling about NIck Saban on “Faculty GameDay”?
Prefer it: 73 percentNo opinion: 13.7 percentDon’t prefer it: 13.3 p.c
Do you watch pregame reveals roughly than you used to?
Extra: 11.1 percentLess: 61.3 percentNo change: 27.6 p.c
The maintain “Faculty GameDay” has on this survey continues, with numbers much like a yr in the past. And regardless of a majority of respondents saying they watch pregame reveals lower than they used to, “GameDay” drew report rankings once more this yr, and its three most-viewed seasons are the final three years. (Sure, current tweaks to how rankings are measured play a job.) “Large Midday” additionally elevated its viewership from a yr in the past.
Emotions on Pat McAfee’s position on “GameDay” had improved lately, however this yr’s survey noticed a fall again to half of respondents saying they don’t like him on the present, though a number of readers spoke up for him within the feedback, particularly his weekly section through which college students kick a discipline purpose to win cash for themselves and charity. Saban continues to get very excessive marks for his position.
Some reader feedback:
“My spouse watches zero faculty soccer. She watches ‘GameDay’ religiously. She loves McAfee’s FG contest and vitality, Herbie’s canine and compassion, how Saban suits in with all that. We each agree Des is type of the odd man out on the present (and we’re each M alums from his period).”
“I don’t know if he has toned it down or I’ve simply gotten used to him, however Pat McAfee doesn’t trouble me as a lot as he used to and he appears to do some legit good things with donating his personal cash for the FG kicking contests every week. Individually, I actually want they might return to ‘Faculty GameDay’ being 2 hours … 3 hours of pregame is an excessive amount of and I usually discover myself watching it delayed skimming for info that pursuits me or skipping all of it collectively.”
“Pat McAfee and Dave Portnoy have ruined ‘Faculty GameDay’ and ‘Large Midday Kickoff’.”
“Dave Portnoy on Fox is a humiliation. His ‘solely love Michigan and everybody else is trash’ schtick is so unprofessional, and if I had been every other faculty within the Large Ten I’d be very upset that they let him on each week.”
Community roles
Do you imagine TV networks are biased towards sure conferences?
Sure: 86.8 percentNo: 13.2 p.c
Do you imagine TV networks play an energetic position in driving Faculty Soccer Playoff choices or growth?
Sure: 82.5 percentNo: 17.5 p.c
I’ve saved these questions on the survey yr to yr, and so they proceed to attract the identical outcomes. One might argue they’re main questions, however they’re emotions plenty of followers share. Correct or not, it’s a story the broadcasters ought to concentrate on. With ESPN and the SEC on one aspect, and Fox and the Large Ten on the opposite, battle strains have been drawn within the eyes of many followers.
Some reader feedback:
“ESPN/SEC/Fox/B1G have an excessive amount of energy total and I’m not assured within the route they’re steering the (future) of school soccer.”
“The clown present that was the weekly CFP rankings manufacturing pushed by ESPN is an abomination. The committee was blatantly biased and/or influenced by the ESPN/SEC.”
Viewing habits
What type of TV do you usually use to observe faculty soccer?
YouTube TV: 38.4 percentCable/satellite tv for pc: 36.7 percentHulu + Dwell TV: 9.2 percentDirecTV Stream: 4.6 percentAntenna: 3.1 percentFubo: 2.5 percentSling: 1.4 p.c
Others receiving votes: ESPN Limitless, Paramount+, Fox One, Peacock, DAZN UK, TSN, Steal My Mother and father’ Login.
These numbers are additionally much like the previous two years. The YouTube TV blackout of ESPN channels in the course of the season doesn’t appear to have had an impact reader emotions all that a lot. There have been additionally fairly a number of write-in votes from individuals who rely solely on new streaming apps akin to ESPN Limitless and Fox One relatively than a full cable package deal. I’ll be certain that so as to add that to the response choices subsequent yr.
Some reader feedback:
“By far the perfect factor was the YouTube quad field, all day Saturday.”
“Purchased a digital antenna and use that greater than Fubo for the Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC video games.”
Have you ever watched a school soccer recreation on The CW or TNT this season?
Sure, each: 34.6 percentNo: 29.9 percentYes, TNT: 27.6 percentYes, The CW: 8 p.c
It is a massive change from final yr, when 61.2 p.c of respondents stated they hadn’t watched a recreation on The CW or truTV. The addition of Large 12 video games to TNT this yr would possibly play a job in that.
Have you ever paid for a streaming-only service like ESPN+ or Peacock particularly to observe faculty soccer?
Sure: 33.7 percentNo: 66.3 p.c
What number of hours of school soccer do you usually watch on a Saturday?
4-8 hours: 56.4 percent8-12 hours: 20.8 percentLess than 4 hours: 17.9 percentMore than 12 hours: 4.9 p.c
How usually do you watch a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday Group of 5 recreation?
Not often, if ever: 56.3 percentOnce per 30 days: 22.8 percentAt least as soon as per week: 20.8 p.c
How do you are feeling in regards to the enhance in Friday evening faculty soccer?
Prefer it: 35.8 percentDon’t prefer it: 40.1 percentNo opinion: 24.1 p.c
What number of non-CFP bowl video games did you watch in December?
0-5: 56.9 percent5-10: 28.7 percentMore than 10: 14.3 p.c
This bowl query is a brand new addition as a result of the survey was open in late December. It’s price noting bowl viewership continues to be very robust.
Via Dec. 27, @ESPNCFB’s non-CFP bowl viewership is up 13%, averaging 2.7M viewers with a number of video games reaching multi-year highs 🏈 @PopTartsBowl | 8.7M viewers⁰🏈 @PinstripeBowl | 7.6M⁰🏈 @taxslayerbowl | 6.0M⁰🏈 @RateBowl | 4.4M⁰🏈 @LABowlGame | 3.8M⁰🏈 @FRBowl | 3.1M pic.twitter.com/AH0LfKYINz
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) January 2, 2026
How do you are feeling in regards to the size of school soccer broadcasts?
Too lengthy: 59.3 percentToo quick: 1.4 percentNo opinion: 39.2 p.c
What’s your greatest subject with watching faculty soccer on TV?
Too many commercials/too lengthy: 67.4 percentToo arduous to alter between video games: 10.2 percentPoor broadcast high quality/announcers: 8.7 percentToo costly: 5.7 percentToo many video games: 2.7 percentAll different choices lower than 1 p.c
Others receiving votes: An excessive amount of deal with betting, an excessive amount of Playoff speak, streaming adverts, lengthy evaluations, too many crowd photographs, halftime is just too lengthy, late kickoff occasions, poor matchup high quality.
Have you ever ever determined towards attending a recreation in individual due to the TV expertise at dwelling?
Sure: 41.5 percentNo: 58.5 p.c
Some reader feedback:
“I’ve hardly watched video games this season as a result of they’re completely too lengthy. Baseball was shortened. Shorten soccer too.”
“One factor I hate is when after a 17-hour pregame present, it’s lastly midday, but we nonetheless should endure by one other 15-20 minutes of speaking earlier than they kick off and begin truly enjoying the sport. In order that recreation runs late, and all the opposite video games run late all day.”
“Going to school soccer video games has turn out to be too costly. I’m comfortable watching from dwelling so long as ESPN’s streaming service stays reasonably priced coupled with my antenna which will get ABC, CBS, NBC & Fox. I ended watching ESPN’s ‘GameDay’ as a result of I can’t stand Pat McAfee. Sure, I’m GenX. Go Vols!”
When you might have any faculty soccer play-by-play announcer in historical past name your crew’s recreation, who would it not be?
Keith Jackson: 48.4 percentVerne Lundquist: 10.1 percentBrent Musberger: 8.9 percentAl Michaels: 4.3 percentMike Tirico: 3.8 percentChris Fowler: 3.7 percentGus Johnson: 3.3 percentLarry Munson: 3.3 percentDick Enberg: 2.8 percentSean McDonough: 2.1 percentLindsey Nelson: 1.7 percentBrad Nessler: 1.6 percentIan Eagle: 1.5 percentRon Franklin: 1.4 percentAll others lower than 1 p.c
Others receiving votes: Jason Benetti, Joe Tessitore, Noah Eagle, Bob Wischusen, John Ward, Eric Collins, Kevin Harlan, Bob Ufer, Curt Gowdy, Paul Burmeister, Tim Brando, Howard Cosell, Mike Leach, Bob Griese, Don Criqui, Jack Buck, Vin Scully, Chris Berman and extra.
Now, benefit from the soothing tones of Keith Jackson opening the 2003 Ohio State-Miami nationwide championship recreation.
No, they actually don’t.
1,000/10. No notes. 👌👌 https://t.co/HtOWef0m97 pic.twitter.com/BcVY0BIgZv
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) December 30, 2025
