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ESPN star Pat McAfee appeared to reference the killing of Charlie Kirk as he ripped the University of Utah over a social media post he says made him feel “very, very uncomfortable” before Saturday’s “College GameDay” broadcast.
McAfee said he saw a video on the university’s Instagram account shortly before going on air in Salt Lake City. The post asked students to do impressions of him, he said, and included comments calling him “corny” and “creepy.”
The video has since been removed from the university’s social media accounts.
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Pat McAfee at the 2025 Rose Bowl and quarterfinal game of the College Football Playoff at Rose Bowl Stadium on Jan. 1, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
The former NFL punter said he would not have minded if students had shared the remarks themselves, but he took issue with the university posting them before he walked in front of thousands of fans.
“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,” McAfee said Monday on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“This is how the university feels about it. It’s an uncomfortable feeling.”
McAfee said the post “set me off a little bit” and made him feel “a little weird.” He then appeared to reference the September 2025 shooting of Kirk, the conservative activist who was killed during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City.
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Charlie Kirk speaks at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025 in Orem, Utah. Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was speaking at his “American Comeback Tour” when he was shot in the neck and killed. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
“Has anything like really scary happened at like 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?”
Later in the segment, McAfee again pointed to “what happened 40 miles south of Salt Lake City a little over a year ago,” saying the university’s post added to the hostility he faces just before he went on air to promote the school.
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Charlie Kirk appears at Utah Valley University Sept. 10, 2025 in Orem, Utah. Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was speaking at his “American Comeback Tour” when he was shot in the neck and killed. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
“I was very, very uncomfortable,” he said. “I think it made me not have the greatest morning.”
The University of Utah apologized in a statement posted to its official Instagram account, saying its goal was to create “lighthearted engagement” about McAfee’s return to campus, but it “missed the mark.”
“University staff are responsible for reviewing and posting content on official social media accounts and we take full accountability for that decision,” the school said.
The university said officials had reached out to McAfee to express their appreciation and regret.
“We sincerely apologize for creating any perception that Pat was unsafe or unwelcome on our campus. Nothing could be further from the truth,” the statement said.
Pat McAfee and the ESPN “College GameDay” crew appear on set in front of a crowd of college football fans. (Roger Wimmer/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
The school added that McAfee and the entire “College GameDay” crew are always welcome at the university. It said ESPN’s pregame show has visited its campus seven times and that it has enjoyed a positive relationship with the crew.
McAfee said he knew some people believed the students’ comments were not particularly harsh, but he kept coming back to who posted the video.
“It was the university putting that out. It’s not like a blog. It’s the actual place that we’re at,” he said.
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Pat McAfee of College GameDay smiles before the game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Mississippi Rebels at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga., on Oct. 18, 2025. (Roger Wimmer/ISI Photos)
The Instagram post was not the only part of McAfee’s visit that appeared to frustrate him. He also took issue with a student participating in his weekly “Kicking Is Easy” contest, which gives a contestant a chance to kick a field goal for $1 million.
McAfee said the student questioned why the prize was “only $1 million” after the potential prize reached $3 million for the previous week’s Notre Dame-BYU game.
“It’s my money! Only $1 million. It’s like, all right, I hate this place. I hate this place,” he said.
McAfee said he hopes he never has to return to the university and joked that he might have COVID if “College GameDay” goes back.
Despite his frustrations, he praised Utah’s football team and called its student section “incredible.” He also thanked the fans who attended Saturday’s broadcast.
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“It was a phenomenal GameDay. Thank you to everybody that showed up,” he said.
Utah went on to defeat Houston 21-13 on Saturday.