ESPN’s “College GameDay” selecting Pittsburgh as its broadcast location this weekend highlighted the stakes of Saturday’s showdown between No. 22 Pitt and No. 9 Notre Dame at Acrisure Stadium.
The GameDay crew, featuring host Rece Davis, analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and Nick Saban plus Plum native Pat McAfee, will be posted at the Great Lawn outside Acrisure Stadium from 9 a.m. to noon, leading into kickoff between the Panthers and Fighting Irish.
On Thursday, ESPN announced its guest list for Saturday’s broadcast, featuring some major Pittsburgh sports icons, including a program giant who the Panthers will honor at halftime.
Former Pitt defensive end Aaron Donald (2010-13) will join the crew live as this week’s celebrity guest picker on the day that the Panthers retire his No. 97 jersey.
Donald, a Penn Hills native, was a unanimous All-American at Pitt and the ACC Player of the Year in 2013, among a long list of other accolades. His NFL career from 2014-2023 with the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams produced a Super Bowl LVI ring, three Defensive Player of the Year awards, 10 Pro Bowl selections and Rookie of the Year honors (2014).
At halftime Saturday, he’ll become only the 11th player in Panthers program history to have their number retired.
In 2019, at age 28, he donated $1 million to the Pitt Football Championship Fund, which made him the youngest seven-figure donor in university history. He also donated $200,000 in 2022.
As a result of his generosity, Pitt had the ground floor of its Duratz Athletic Complex practice facility on the South Side renamed in Donald’s honor.
Also making live appearances on GameDay will be:
• College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett, a 1976 national champion, Heisman Trophy winner and All-American at Pitt. Dorsett’s No. 33 was retired by Pitt at halftime of his final game with the program.
• Former Notre Dame and Steelers running back Jerome Bettis.
• Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi.
• Fighting Irish tailback Jeremiyah Love.
Saturday marks the fourth time Pitt has hosted “College GameDay.” The program last came to Pittsburgh for the 2022 Backyard Brawl and before that, in 2005, when Pitt hosted Notre Dame.
