Pat McAfee did not enjoy his visit to the University of Utah for ESPN’s College Gameday on Saturday, and now the NFL punter-turned-podcaster is blaming the school by invoking Charlie Kirk‘s murder.
‘I’ve never been more uncomfortable, honestly, in my life, walking in front of a group of people after watching their university put out a post, basically dogging me just moments before,’ McAfee said on Monday’s episode.
The problem, according to McAfee, involved a since-deleted video reportedly posted on the Utah Student Experience Instagram page. The video, which has since surfaced on other social media platforms, includes Utah students criticizing McAfee before his scheduled live remote broadcast from Salt Lake City, where the sixth-ranked Utes beat visiting Houston, 21-13, on Saturday night.
According to McAfee, that video was posted moments before he stepped in front of the live campus audience, some of whom could be heard booing the ESPN star.
‘One kid goes, “Ah, he’s corny,”‘ McAfee said of the Instagram video. ‘Another kid calls me “creepy.”‘
McAfee claimed he wasn’t upset about the criticism, but rather the fact that it was being posted on a school social media account.
Pat McAfee did not enjoy his visit to the University of Utah for ESPN’s College GameDay
McAfee took issue with a video posted on one of the school’s social media accounts (pictured)
‘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,’ he said. ‘This is how the University feels about it. It’s an uncomfortable feeling.’
McAfee went on to reference Kirk’s 2025 murder at Utah Valley University in Orem, about 45 miles south of Utah’s Salt Lake City campus.
Although he stopped short of mentioning Kirk by name, McAfee did urge schools in Utah to refrain from sharing divisive material.
‘I thought to myself, has anything like really scary happened at a college gathering in the state of Utah recently?’ McAfee asked. ‘Like, do we think we should be amplifying reasons for why people hate my guts as a University?’
McAfee had other issues in Salt Lake City, too.
He errantly predicted that Houston would upset the Utes, only to later admit coach Morgan Scalley’s team is, in fact, ‘good.’ He also bickered with one of the contestants in his weekly kicking contest who sneered at the $1 million prize.
‘Actually, how about $20,’ McAfee told the woman, who went on to miss her kick.
Pat McAfee removed his shirt and took a public dig at the New York Times once again
The Daily Mail has sought comment from Utah athletics as well as the school’s student experience social media team.
McAfee has been increasingly focused on the criticism he’s faced as he’s become more omnipresent across ESPN’s platforms and other areas of entertainment. Not only did he name his debut album ‘The Diary Of A Polarizing Figure,’ but he recently ripped off his shirt on College Gameday in protest of The New York Times’ criticism of him for repeatedly stripping on air.
Last week, co-host Rece Davis suggested Billy Napier, now head coach at James Madison, had suddenly figured out how to coach.
‘I’ve always thought Billy could coach,’ Davis said. ‘That was a joke.’
‘Oh, really? Don’t be joking on here!’ McAfee replied. ‘New York Times is gonna write an article about you! Don’t do it, Rece!
‘College football’s fun. GameDay might be fun too. Don’t do that, Rece. I promise you. We’re in the entertainment business.’
