Less than 72 hours after ESPN announced a transformative partnership to launch a comprehensive sports betting brand, the network disclosed plans Thursday to add a new sports wagering analyst to its flagship College GameDay program.
Steve Coughlin, a SportsCenter commentator and segment producer on the show’s midnight edition featuring Scott Van Pelt, will join College GameDay starting on Aug. 26 for a two-hour season-preview. More commonly known to viewers as “Stanford Steve,” Coughlin will join the traveling road show full time.
Coughlin will replace longtime GameDay analyst Chris “The Bear” Fallica, who left ESPN to join the college football team at Fox Sports. In many ways, Coughlin is a natural replacement for Fallica. For several years, the duo co-hosted Stanford Steve and The Bear, a weekly podcast where they offered sports prognostications for coming games.
Cardinal roots
Coughlin first appeared on ESPN’s Behind the Bets podcast during the 2014 college football season. He took over as a host a year later when the program became Behind the Bets, The College Years. By 2018, ESPN renamed the podcast again to Stanford Steve and The Bear.
“Anyone who has met Stanford Steve knows how passionate he is about college football. Adding him to College GameDay will be a great fit as we tap into both his knowledge of the sport and his betting expertise every week to serve all of our loyal fans,” said Lee Fitting, who serves as ESPN’s senior vice president, production.
Before his television career, Coughlin played tight end at Stanford from 1996-2000.
“Thinking back, getting up early and watching College GameDay during my playing days at Stanford was part of the routine,” Coughlin said. “I’m jacked up to be part of this crew, let’s bring it Week 1!”
Known in part for his Bad Beats segment with Van Pelt, Coughlin will host “Steve’s 6-pack” as a GameDay segment where he’ll share his top bets of the week. He will also join College Football Live every Friday from the site of College GameDay.
Buckle up! https://t.co/jwa4fXqK5C
— Stanford Steve (@StanfordSteve82) August 10, 2023
The role of insiders
Coughlin will join former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee on GameDay. McAfee, an eight-year NFL veteran, began making regular appearances on the program in 2019. Two years later, McAfee signed a multi-year deal with FanDuel designating the operator as the official odds provider of his eponymous Pat McAfee Show. McAfee announced in May that he would be moving his show to ESPN.
On Tuesday, ESPN announced a 10-year partnership with PENN Entertainment that grants the gaming operator exclusivity to the ESPN brand in launching ESPN BET, a new sports betting platform. PENN has agreed to make $1.5 billion in cash payments to ESPN over the initial 10-year term and will grant ESPN $500 million in warrants to purchase approximately 31.8 million PENN common shares.
One topic of conversation following the announcement centered on the guardrails that could prevent network personalities from providing inside information to the ESPN-branded sportsbook. In June, Shams Charania of FanDuel TV reported on mounting speculation that the Charlotte Hornets would take guard Scoot Henderson with the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft.
The report triggered considerable fluctuations on a FanDuel market that allowed bettors to select which player would be selected at No. 2. Prior to the report, FanDuel listed Alabama forward Brandon Miller as a heavy favorite to be taken with the pick. The report flipped the odds, with Henderson leapfrogging Miller. In the end, the Hornets wound up selecting the Crimson Tide forward. Despite the controversy, FanDuel backed Charnia, who also works for The Athletic.
“FanDuel is not privy to any news that Shams breaks on his platforms,” a FanDuel spokesman said in a statement.
There are also future cautions for GameDay and ESPN BET involving any promotion of betting on visits to college campuses. In February, PENN agreed to pay a $250,000 fine issued by the Ohio Casino Control Commission to settle a violation stemming from marketing of Barstool Sportsbook offers at an event as the University of Toledo the previous November.
The announcement of plans for ESPN BET comes amid heightened concern surrounding the proliferation of sports betting on university campuses nationwide, including by athletes. Iowa prosecutors charged seven additional college football players this week with criminal violations related to the state’s investigation of sports wagering by student-athletes.
