| FTBL Nick Saban to have 'prominent role' in ESPN title game coverage

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Nick Saban to have 'prominent role' in ESPN title game coverage

Nick Saban and Alabama won’t be playing in the College Football Playoff national title game for the first time since 2015, but the Crimson Tide coach will still be a part of the conversation.

Saban is set to “have a prominent role” in ESPN’s championship game coverage, the network announced Thursday. Though television plans and schedules can change, Saban will likely appear on Championship Drive, which is hosted by Alabama alumn Rece Davis and begins at 5 p.m. CT, and provide his thoughts and analysis of the game during the halftime show.

From an ESPN press release (all times Eastern):

ESPN is taking over the New Orleans’ French Quarter marking a four-day celebration of college football in advance of the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T between No. 1 LSU and No. 3 Clemson (Jan. 13, 8 p.m.). ESPN’s studio coverage will originate predominantly from Jax Brewery beginning the morning of Friday, Jan. 10, and continue through Championship Monday, with 40+ hours of coverage across multiple networks featuring more than 60 of the network’s most notable personalities.
ESPN’s studio programming will hit its apex on Championship Monday, as the network offers seven hours of pregame coverage and all-day programming from New Orleans leading into the sport’s finale. Throughout the day, the network will be the home to all the latest news around the game and both participating teams throughout the day, as well as some of the sport’s biggest names headlined by Alabama’s Nick Saban. The six-time national champion head coach will have a prominent role on ESPN pregame shows leading into kickoff and also appear on the network’s halftime coverage.
Overall, ESPN’s Championship Monday lineup features 25 hours of programming originating from the Big Easy across all of its networks, headlined by special editions of College Football Playoff Pregame (7:30 p.m.-8 p.m.), Championship Drive (6-7:30 p.m.), College GameDay Built by the Home Depot (3-5 p.m.), and College Football Live (1-3 p.m.). Ohio State’s Ryan Day and Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher will be among the additional guests joining multiple shows throughout the day’s coverage.
In addition to the shows originating from New Orleans, over the course of four days, nearly every ESPN show will feature flavor from the Big Easy including SportsCenter and Get Up! For the first time, NFL Countdown will be onsite at the CFP National Championship with special editions on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 10 a.m., and Sunday, Jan. 12, at noon. Championship Drive: Countdown to Kickoff will conclude Sunday’s programming, with a two-hour special beginning at 8 p.m.
ESPN’s extensive studio presence is a prelude to its CFP National Championship presentation, which will feature cutting edge technology on its main telecast and 15 MegaCast productions.

9COMMENTS
The 2020 CFP National Championship Game between No. 1 LSU (14-0) and No. 3 Clemson (14-0) will kick off at 7 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.