In anticipation of the SEC’s launch on ABC, ESPN has reorchestrated its classic college football theme song from the late 1990s and early 2000s for a new era. Debuting Saturday, Aug. 31 during the Miami at Florida (3:30 p.m. ET) and Notre Dame at Texas A&M (7:30 p.m.) games on ABC, the revitalized theme represents a collaboration between the SEC, ESPN Music, ESPN’s college football production team and the composer. Bob Christiansonwho also created the famous ESPN-themed NHL.
The theme music has been reimagined for the new 10-year media rights deal between ESPN and the Southeastern Conference, which makes the ABC and ESPN platforms the exclusive home of SEC football. The dynamic musical composition will bring the nostalgia, pageantry and passion of the SEC’s early years on ESPN to a new generation of college football fans and ABC viewers.
“Music is a crucial element in shaping the storytelling of any show,” says Burke Magnus, president of content at ESPN. “The opportunity to resurrect a theme song that means so much to college football fans, and to many of us at ESPN, was important as we begin this new chapter in our relationship with the SEC.”
The new music will be used exclusively during SEC home games on ABC, meaning it can be incorporated into more than just the 3:30 p.m. ET window. Primetime SEC home games during ABC Saturday Night Football and in the ABC noon ET window will also use this revamped theme.
“By reaching back to the past and connecting to the present, ESPN brings a touch of tradition to a new era of SEC sports television,” says Greg Sankey, SEC Commissioner. “This re-orchestrated lineup will enhance the presentation of SEC football on ABC by bringing some nostalgia to the new SEC Saturday television experience.”
The ESPN College Football theme song reached its peak in the early 2000s when ESPN featured SEC football in prime time on Saturday nights. The theme was also used in several pop culture touchpoints throughout the 2000s, most notably in EA Sports NCAA 14, the final iteration of the popular video game before the release of EA Sports College Football 25 earlier this year.
ESPN Front Row will get a sneak peek at the creative process behind the reimagined theme following Saturday’s launch.
