Pat McAfee has criticised the University of Utah after its official Instagram account shared a video mocking him shortly before an edition of ESPN’s “College GameDay”, saying the incident made him question whether he would return to the campus.
The video showed students impersonating the broadcaster, with one describing him as “corny” and another calling him “creepy”. McAfee said he would not have objected to the students making the comments themselves, but was angered that the university had promoted them before he appeared in front of thousands of fans.
Speaking on “The Pat McAfee Show”, he said the post had caught him off guard and described walking out before the crowd as an especially uncomfortable experience.
McAfee also referred to the September 2025 assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, questioning whether the University of Utah should be encouraging hostility towards him in the aftermath of such a tragedy.
“Do we think we should be amplifying reasons for why people hate my guts as a university?” McAfee asked.
The former NFL punter said he had come to dislike the experience at the university, declaring: “I hate this place. I hate this place. I did not enjoy the University of Utah.”
He was also unhappy when a student taking part in his $1 million kicking contest questioned the size of the prize. McAfee joked that he would come down with Covid if “College GameDay” returned to Utah.
The university subsequently apologised, acknowledging that its attempt at light-hearted humour had “missed the mark”. Officials said they had contacted McAfee to express their regret and stressed that they had never intended to make him feel unsafe or unwelcome.
They added that McAfee would always be welcome back at the University of Utah.
Despite the dispute, McAfee still praised Utah’s football team and student section, although his remarks suggested he was in no hurry to return to the campus.
