When ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit talks about college football, he tends to only focus on the Power 4 conference teams and Samford does not fit that criteria. Samford plays Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Division I football, not football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Division I football. While this may be the case, it doesn’t mean we don’t exist.
Last weekend, when commentating the Texas A&M vs LSU game, Herbstreit was looking at the remaining schedule for the Texas A&M Aggies. He saw the abbreviation for Samford being Sam, and he didn’t know who that was. His fellow analyst, Chris Fowler, did know Samford and quickly corrected him. This video has been circulating on the internet all week.
Herbstreit is supposed to be an expert in his field. He is widely regarded as a football specialist. Between being one of the personalities on ESPN College Gameday and a fan favorite commentator during games, Herbstreit has quite a reputation for being a “football guy.” He can name the third string quarterback at Ohio State, but probably couldn’t tell you which conference Samford even plays in. Apparently if the Gameday bus has not made a stop on your campus, you are invisible.
We might not fill a 100,000-seat stadium or have our mascot on national commercials. We may not play in the upper level of D-I football. We may not even play Power 4 opponents very often, but we are still a school with a D-I football program. We don’t need Herbstreit’s approval, but we would at least like him to know that SAM means Samford.
The problem isn’t just Herbstreit. Most of the national media overlooks Samford, especially in football. They treat programs like Samford as cupcake games, when for these kinds of programs, every Saturday is the playoffs.
So, to Kirk Herbstreit, next time national television calls to talk about “underrated programs,” maybe give the Bulldogs a look. We may not be one of the prestigious football programs, but we are every bit as important as larger schools. Next time you’re looking at schedules, do your research and make sure you know who you’re talking about.
Staff Reporter
