College GameDay begins preparation for Saturday show at JMU

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - College GameDay isn’t set to hit the airwaves until Saturday morning, but the preparation for the ESPN broadcast began on Wednesday as trucks arrived to the Quad to begin prepping for the big show.

“Today we’re starting the early arrival. Nine trucks are moving into the quad here at JMU,” said Kevin Warner, associate athletic director for JMU. “They will immediately begin setting up the set today and then move into tomorrow and be all set by tomorrow at the end of the day so that they can then start some of their programming on Friday.”

While the arrival for the trucks was in the middle of the day, there was still a sizable crowd to welcome them.

“College GameDay has told us before that when they come to these schools that don’t get it all the time that it’s different, that everyone is so excited to welcome them versus some of the bigger schools that get College GameDay once a season every year,” said Warner, “so I think that excitement is part of it. We saw the excitement when it was announced immediately Saturday night, and now you see it with a few hundred students lined up here.”

Even though College GameDay has visited before, it is still an exciting time for JMU and the community.

“College GameDay is making their third visit to JMU and it’s really exciting for the whole university community, not just athletics and our football program, but it’s really an opportunity to celebrate JMU as a whole, our love for the university, our spirit and pride in the school and the case to showcase that on a national level this weekend.”

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