ESPN’s “College GameDay” will be in Arlington, Texas, for the Big 12 Championship game between No. 10 Kansas State and No. 3 TCU. It is GameDay’s first visit to the Big 12 Championship since 2007.
Freeze will be on set with host Rece Davis and analysts Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Pat McAfee and David Pollack. Top-ranked Georgia’s head coach Kirby Smart will join for a remote interview ahead of the Bulldogs’ SEC Championship game in Atlanta. College Football Playoff Committee Chair Boo Corrigan will also join the show remotely.
Hugh Freeze’s return to the league more than five years after his scandal-plagued exit was greeted by considerable backlash on social media from wary fans. The former Ole Miss and Liberty coach had to talk about his past during his introductory news conference as much as his belief that Auburn can make a quick turnaround. He urged fans to “please give me a chance to earn your trust.”Auburn gave Freeze a six-year contract worth at least $6.
Freeze resigned from Ole Miss in the summer of 2017 after school officials uncovered a “pattern of personal misconduct” starting with a call to a number used by an escort service from a university-issued cellphone. The program ultimately landed on NCAA probation for 21 violations of academic, booster and recruiting misconduct mostly under Freeze’s watch.