College football is supposed to be about touchdowns, rivalries, and fans losing their voices over a game. But apparently, it can also involve deleted videos, hurt feelings, and a famous analyst threatening to stay away forever.
Welcome to the latest drama involving Pat McAfee and the University of Utah.
🚨 Pat McAfee GOES OFF on the University of Utah 😳
He says he’s never felt so uncomfortable, even bringing up what happened at UVU last year.
“I did not enjoy the University of Utah.”
HOLY SMOKES 💀 pic.twitter.com/YCXQPM3vEH
— Bill (@Billgetzfroggy) October 26, 2026
A video produced by the University of Utah reportedly left McAfee furious after students made jokes about his mannerisms.
This is the video the University of Utah posted on Instagram that people claim turned Pat McAfee against Utah.
They’re calling him a creep for taking his shirt off… (when the entire crowd was chanting for him to do it???) https://t.co/4oSNDLbRJO pic.twitter.com/rvs9FWz2TD
— Bill (@Billgetzfroggy) October 24, 2026
The clip, which was connected to ESPN’s College GameDay, quickly became a hot topic after it was removed. And just like that, a college football show found itself dealing with drama that had nothing to do with the scoreboard.
McAfee called out Monday a since-deleted video published by the university in advance of ESPN’s “College GameDay” coming to campus for Saturday’s huge 21-13 win over Houston.
The host of the video asks a fan for his best McAfee impression, and a male fan predicted the host would say a “corny line.”
“He’s going to be like, ‘Houston, we got a problem. Give the Utah Utes,” the fan said while those around him chuckled.
Another fan then appeared to joke that he would bet on McAfee ripping his shirt off during the show, before another fan chided the ESPN star for doing so.
“Pat, we love you, bro, but like, bro, keep the shirt on,” the fan said with a smile. “No one is trying to see that. We don’t care, these are college kids, bro. Keep your shirt on homie.”
McAfee responded by vowing never to return to Utah for College GameDay. That is a pretty dramatic ending to what started as a video featuring students poking fun at a television personality.
Those remarks clearly got under McAfee’s skin, along with the student in the show’s kicking contest asking why she was being offered $1 million instead of the $3 million McAfee gave away the previous week at BYU.
McAfee appeared visibly annoyed at the remark, and signed off by picking Houston to win to a chorus of boos and saying “I’ll never see you again, hopefully.”
On his self-named show Monday, McAfee went scorched earth on Utah and ESPN’s potential $60 million star explicitly referenced the rather tame remarks made by the students.
He said he did not enjoy his time in Salt Lake City, even using the word hate and saying he’s never felt more uncomfortable.
McAfee repeatedly stated that he felt that video was the university taking a shot at him.
“They do an impression of Pat McAfee and one kid goes, ‘Ah, he’s corny.’ Another kid calls me creepy,” he said, although the student did not call him corny. “OK, if these kids would have done this on their own blogs, all good. I mean, everybody’s taking shots at me anyways for everything. I get it.
“The university puts that out? Like, as I’m about to go out and do an infomercial for the place, and then I’m walking in front of thousands of these people. This is how the university feels about it? It’s an uncomfortable feeling. I’m getting a lot of shrapnel from a lot of places. The university is putting this out? That’s something I just had never experienced really in my entire life.”
The university-produced clip has since been deleted, but the controversy has continued to attract attention.
And there is the lesson: the internet never forgets, even when somebody hits the delete button.
For now, McAfee’s anger has turned a student video into a much bigger story.
Whether he eventually changes his mind about returning to Utah remains to be seen.
One thing is certain: College GameDay has enough football drama without needing an extra episode about a deleted video.
