NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — For years, Vanderbilt struggled with filling their stadium and winning football games. But not anymore.
This weekend, West End will be the center of the college football universe as ESPN's College GameDay comes to campus for just the second time in school history. "People are getting hype for this, people are ready," said Zachary Hunter, a Vanderbilt University sophomore.
Growing excitement on campus
At first glance, it may seem strange that a bunch of semi trucks on Vanderbilt's campus could cause such excitement. That is, until you see ESPN College GameDay's logo. "I'm excited to see how they set up because Wyatt's a beautiful lawn," Hunter said.
The excitement is palpable across campus. "All my friends back home that go to Penn State and Pitt have teams that are worse and this is the best week ever for that. It just feels so good," Hunter said.
Growing excitement just off campus
The Vanderbilt University Bookstore is already selling official GameDay shirts and hoodies so fans like Scott Siman, a Vanderbilt graduate, will look the part for the hours he plans to stand outside for the broadcast. "There's some College GameDay stuff that's just going up," Siman said. "I will be there, I will be hoarse when it's over because I do like to yell and scream."
So why is college football's biggest broadcast coming to West End? If you haven't been anchored into the Commodores this season, this isn't your father's or grandfather's Vanderbilt football team. "Vandy's obviously an offensive powerhouse," Siman said.
The Commodores are ranked in the top 10 in the nation and are favored to beat the visiting 15th-ranked Missouri Tigers. It's why Siman is bleeding black and gold, even though he's technically a graduate of both schools.
"I'm a big fan of both schools," Siman said. "Vanderbilt is the one for this one, Anchor down baby!"
Making history
This marks only the second time Vanderbilt has hosted College GameDay. The last time was back in 2008, when the Commodores were also ranked and turning heads in the conference.
Young fan Jackson Hand wasn't even alive the last time College GameDay visited Nashville. With the broadcast bringing so many eyeballs to campus and the school, Vanderbilt fans are hopeful this game will prove ESPN has plenty of reasons to come back.
"It just brings a lot of hype to the team," Hand said. "I think the student section's going to be rocking."
"We've got our home game, we've got gameday, this is our time to show out and show who we are," Hunter said.
If you go...
While the game doesn't kick off until 2:30 p.m., Vanderbilt fans taking part in College GameDay will need to brew some coffee. The broadcast begins at 8 a.m., and to get one of the coveted spots near the desk, you'll need to get there much earlier than that. You can find more information about rules and regulations for being part of the show by clicking here.
Are you planning to attend ESPN's College GameDay on Saturday? How early are you getting there? Let me know by emailing me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
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