Pat McAfee divides opinion as he announces his return to ESPN College GameDay

Like him or loath him, you will have to get used to him if you like watching ESPN College Gameday. Pat McAfee will be back. The host of the Pat McAfee Show and college analyst took to social media to announce his decision to join the GameDay crew again for the 2024 season.

In a video released on his X account, McAfee said the following.

"“I’m lucky, I’m honored, I’m humble, I’m grateful and… I’m back. … I can’t wait for Dublin on August 24th. Let’s have the greatest year of football in the history of college football. Hell yeah.”"

- Pat McAfee on his social media

Pat McAfee will join regular analysts Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit, and Lee Corso. The team will also be joined by former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, who announced earlier this year he will be joining the ESPN College Gameday crew. Saban has become part of the ESPN and SEC Network media teams, transitioning from head coach to analyst.

Despite the news from Pat McAfee, some fans were not overly thrilled with the announcement. College fans have mixed feelings towards McAfee, with some not enjoying the loud energy he brings to the show.

It's one reason why McAfee took so long to decide whether to return to ESPN College GameDay. In a poll run by the Athletic's Chris Vannini, he asked how fans felt about McAfee on GameDay; 48.9% voted "don't like it." McAfee replied in a post on X.

""To the 49%, I have some great news, I have heard you all very loud and clear since the beginning of my stint on GameDay. It's one of the biggest reasons why I have not re-signed a contract with the legendary show. I'm not right for some crowds and the 'distinguished' College Football folks are definitely one of those."

- Pat McAfee replying to negative comments

There is still strong support for Pat McAfee, which is why his show does so well, hitting over 200k views per episode in July. However, it seems the older college football fans are not fans of his personality.

Whichever side you fall on, Pat McAfee will be back for ESPN College GameDay in 2024.