• GameDay’s first show of the season will be live from No. 4 Texas on Feb. 1 (noon ET on ESPN)
• Christine Williamson set to host the pregame show, alongside women’s basketball analysts Andraya Carter and Chiney Ogwumike
• This season’s run includes five live road shows before post-season action

ESPN’s College GameDay Covered by State Farm^® returns for the 2025-26 women’s college basketball season and heads to Austin, Texas for its initial stop on Sunday, Feb. 1. The trip marks the first of five road visits for the women’s college basketball edition of the pregame show. The one-hour program will air at noon ET on ESPN, preceding the storied rivalry between No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 4 Texas (3 p.m., ABC).

This will be the first time the Longhorns have hosted GameDay and will be their second appearance, following the SEC Championship last season. The matchup marks the first time the Oklahoma Sooners will appear on the premiere pre-game show.

Christine Williamson hosts the show in her first season as part of her expanded role with ESPN, as announced in December. She is joined by 2023 Sports Emmy nominee and basketball analyst Andraya Carter in her fourth season. Rounding out the desk is Chiney Ogwumike – a two-time WNBA All-Star and multi-sport studio analyst – who returns for her third season.

Carter will once again play double GameDay duty as a regular desk analyst on the men’s edition of the pregame show, alongside her responsibilities on the women’s side.

Additional road shows will take place throughout February and the conference championship week of March 8 before beginning the postseason run with ESPN’s exclusive coverage of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.

“We are incredibly excited to tip off this season of College GameDay with a top-20 matchup between the Longhorns and the Sooners,” said ESPN senior vice president of production Meg Aronowitz. “Our team continues to look for new and innovative ways to highlight these dynamic players and passionate fan bases on a week-to-week basis and we cannot wait to get started.”

Sponsor Support
For the 2026 season, State Farm has brought back the iconic GameDay bus showcasing new College GameDay talent that will follow the women’s show stops all season long. State Farm will also bring back the Shot Contest at the women’s shows this year – the State Farm Shot Challenge. At each on-campus show, a student will be selected to compete for the chance to win $19,000 by making three basketball shots – a layup, a free throw and a three-point shot, in 19 seconds or less.

Principal’s “Wooden Watch” returns to support their overall sponsorship of the Men’s and Women’s Wooden Player of the Year Award. Principal becomes an Official Associate Sponsor of GameDay which will include on-site activation. Intuit QuickBooks returns as the sponsor of the weekly Game Picks segment. New sponsors DraftKings and Jimmy John’s will have in-show features each week, in addition to Jimmy John’s also having an on-site presence.

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