With college football kicking off this weekend, ESPN has released its list of commentators for the upcoming season. The experienced broadcaster lineup brings together many of the game’s most respected voices alongside rising stars, delivering unmatched insight and storytelling from Week 0 in August through the College Football Playoff National Championship in Las Vegas in January 2027.
Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and reporter Holly Rowe will again serve as the lead team on ABC and ESPN. The 2026-27 season marks Fowler and Herbstreit’s 13th year in the booth and their 30th year as college football teammates, beginning in 1996 on College GameDay. Fowler, a 2024 Sports Emmy nominee, and Herbstreit, the five-time Sports Emmy winner, have called all 12 College Football Playoff National Championship games together. Rowe, a 2023 Sports Emmy winner, joined the team in 2021 and is in her 31st year on the college football sidelines for ESPN and ABC, as well as the lead reporter for ESPN’s coverage of women’s college basketball, the WNBA, college softball and AUSL.
Steve Shaw joins ESPN as a college football rules analyst on the lead ABC crew following a distinguished career in officiating and football administration. He most recently served as the NCAA’s secretary-rules editor for football and national coordinator of officials, after previously overseeing football officiating for the SEC and Sun Belt Conference. Shaw also spent 22 years as an on-field official, including assignments to two BCS National Championship Games and numerous major bowl games.
Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy and Katie George are pairing up for their first season as a broadcast team. McDonough and McElroy begin their fourth season together, with McDonough coming off his win for NSMA National Sportscaster of the Year. McDonough, one of the most accomplished broadcasters of his generation, returns to his regular ABC/ESPN rotationfor the eighth consecutive year in addition to serving as ESPN’s lead NHL play-by-play voice. The Alabama National Champion quarterback enters his 11th season calling games for ESPN and ABC. One of the sport’s leading analysts, McElroy is a regular on College Football Live and the College Football Playoff Top 25, in addition to hosting ESPN and Omaha Productions’ Always College Football podcast. George, the 2026 Sports Emmy winner for Outstanding Sports Personality – Emerging On-Air Talent, is a versatile reporter who has covered multiple sports and events for ESPN and ABC – including the NBA, UFL, F1, NCAA Volleyball and more, returns for her eighth year on the sidelines across ESPN networks.
The trio of veteran play-by-play voice Joe Tessitore, longtime ESPN analyst Jesse Palmer and seasoned sideline reporter Kris Budden will team together for the first time this season, with Tessitore and Palmer pairing for the fourth straight season. Palmer enters his 19th season at ESPN, having worked both game and studio analyst roles across ESPN networks. He’s also a consistent face on ABC as host of The Bachelor franchise. For the better part of two decades, Tessitore has been among the premier broadcasters for ESPN and ABC’s coverage of college football, as well as a commentator for WWE. Budden is a regular on ABC and ESPN, serving as the lead reporter on men’s college basketball, and the Men’s College World Series, in addition to adding grand slam tennis reporting since 2024 and the Little League Softball World Series in 2025. Budden has also called multiple College Football Playoff National Championships on ESPN Radio and is a regular voice for college sports studio programming on Sirius XM.
Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek and Taylor McGregor will call games as a trio for the third year, with Pasch and Dvoracek in the booth together for the sixth consecutive season. A versatile football and basketball play-by-play voice, Pasch recently reupped with a new contract with an expanded and exclusive role with ESPN on college football, NFL and NBA. A two-time Oklahoma Sooner captain and former NFL Draft pick, Dvoracek also contributes to College Football Live, SportsCenter and various SEC Network programming. McGregor has been part of ESPN’s college football team since 2019 and is also a commentator and host for Chicago Cubs broadcasts. She joined ESPN in Omaha as a reporter for the 2026 Men’s College World Series and is a regular sideline reporter on ESPN and ABC’s NBA coverage.
Tom Hart, Roddy Jones and Quint Kessenich are paired up for the first season together. Hart is a longtime play-by-play voice on ESPN and SEC Network, having just finished a decade on SEC Network’s SEC Saturday Night primetime games. Jones has been with ESPN since 2017, first as a sideline reporter and then as an analyst on both ACC Network and ESPN. Veteran reporter Kessenich is one of ESPN’s top lacrosse voices as an analyst and reporter on multiple NCAA Championship events and contributes weekly to ESPN’s coverage of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL).
Bob Wischusen, Louis Riddick and Stormy Buonantony will team up together for the first time as a trio on ABC and ESPN. Wischusen, a college football, basketball, golf and NHL voice for ESPN, is also the New York Jets radio voice. Riddick, who is synonymous with ESPN’s NFL coverage, readies for his sixth college football campaign. Buonantony enters her fifth college football season with ESPN in addition to her UFL and NHL responsibilities. An Emmy Award-winning journalist, Buonantony also serves as a host on VSiN, The Sports Betting Network, in Las Vegas.
Roy Philpott, Brock Osweiler and Sherree Burruss will partner up for the 2026-27 season. Philpott, a longtime ESPN play-by-play voice, moves to a new crew to kick off his 14th season calling football on ESPN. Osweiler, a former NFL quarterback and Super Bowl 50 champion with the Denver Broncos, joined ESPN in 2022 following his seven-year professional career and record-setting tenure at Arizona State. Burruss returns to ESPN college football coverage full-time, having started on ACC Network in 2023.
Lead ESPN Weekday Primetime, College Networks and HBCU Commentating Crews:
- Mike Monaco, Jordan Rodgers and Dana Boyle are a new pairing for ESPN primetime games on Friday nights primarily featuring the Big 12 or ACC.
- ACC Network Primetime features a new look in 2026, as longtime lead play-by-play voice Wes Durham is joined by former Pitt and USC QB Max Browne and former Florida State volleyball standout Madison Fitzpatrick.
- SEC Network debuts a new trio for SEC Saturday Night as Matt Schumacker, Aaron Murray and Taylor Davis team up in primetime.
- Tiffany Greene and Jay Walker again join forces in the booth on ESPN’s HBCU spotlights, along with the Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kick-Off and the Cricket Celebration Bowl on ABC. This is the duo’s 10th season together.
- Matt Barrie, Chase Daniel and Paul Carcaterra will take on Thursday nights in primetime on ESPN, primarily traveling to top American and Sun Belt showdowns each week. Barrie and Daniel will also be part of the new-look SEC Nation team Saturday mornings on SEC Network.
