ESPN’s College GameDay marked a milestone in Week 1 of the 2026 season by introducing a brand-new tradition of its own.
The show, which has spent decades building its identity by traveling to college football’s biggest stages, celebrated its 500th road episode and used the moment to create the College GameDay Hall of Fan. Rece Davis introduced the honor during the broadcast and made the first selection: Ol’ Crimson, the Washington State flag.
"What we want to do, we want to honor these fans by starting the College GameDay Hall of Fan," said Davis. "And our inaugural inductee, somebody who has been with us for 23 years.
They had a 15-year crusade to get this show to their campus, in the palouse at Washington State. The inaugural inductee into the College GameDay Hall of Fan...
Ol' Crimson, the Washington State flag."
Confetti fell as the LSU crowd looked on while the show’s first Hall of Fan selection went to a flag.
Ol’ Crimson has become one of the most familiar sights in the GameDay universe, appearing for more than 300 episodes. Its story started in 2003, when a Washington State supporter brought it to a GameDay broadcast in Austin, Texas, even though the matchup that day was Texas vs. Kansas State.
From there, the Washington State Ol’ Crimson Booster Club kept the tradition alive by shipping the flag to alums near each weekly GameDay location so it could keep showing up on television.
The flag has traveled everywhere from Disney’s Magic Kingdom to Augusta National, from a Naval ship to Times Square in New York City. Its long-running push also paid off in a memorable way: in 2018, Ol’ Crimson was on campus in Pullman, Washington, when GameDay finally made it there.
Now, after 23 years in the spotlight and a 15-year effort to bring the show to Washington State, Ol’ Crimson has its place in the Hall of Fan. Week 2 will have a tough time matching that introduction.
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Apple Cup Tradition Just Took A Hit WSU Fans Will Notice
The Apple Cup carried a different feel this year, and Washington State fans noticed it before the second half even got underway. The Cougars band did not take part in the halftime show, breaking a long-standing tradition that has been part of the rivalrys rhythm for years. Washington State officials said the change came down to logistical and experiential concerns, while both schools have been dealing with the practical realities of moving a full band to a road game in an increasingly expensive college sports landscape.
Washington pointed to Big Ten conference rules and cost considerations as part of the explanation, underscoring how much even a classic rivalry has to bend to modern travel and budget constraints. Both schools have acknowledged the financial and operational strain around band travel and placement at games, but the absence of Washington States band was still a noticeable shift for a matchup built on pageantry as much as points. [Read more 🡒]
Washington States Apple Cup Upset Hopes Rest On One Tough Balancing Act
Washington State heads into the Apple Cup needing more than just emotion and rivalry energy to make this thing interesting. The Cougars have to find a way to bother Demond Williams Jr. enough to keep Washington from settling in, and that starts with a defensive front that has to make life difficult across the line of scrimmage. At the same time, WSU cannot let this turn into a one-sided pressure game on its own quarterback, because the Cougars will need enough of a running presence to keep the offense balanced and give Caden Pinnick some room to operate.
Pinnicks assignment is just as tricky in a setting that rarely forgives hesitation. Washingtons defense brings enough strength to make the Cougars work for every clean look, and the atmosphere at Husky Stadium adds another layer for a quarterback still trying to settle in. For WSU, the formula is simple to describe and hard to pull off: create enough disruption on one side, avoid getting overwhelmed on the other, and hope the game stays close long enough for the upset talk to feel real. [Read more 🡒]
Washington State Faces One Apple Cup Test That Could Change Everything
Washington State heads into the upcoming Apple Cup with a different look on both sides of the ball, but one of the more notable changes is up front on defense. Kaden Beatty is now a starter for the Cougars after working as a backup in last years rivalry game, giving WSU a more established presence in the middle as it tries to handle a Washington offense led again by quarterback Demond Williams Jr. The Huskies are bringing back Williams Jr. to guide a revamped attack, which puts extra weight on how well the Cougars can control the line of scrimmage.
Caden Pinnick will also be stepping into a new role for Washington State, making his first start for the Cougars in a game that already carries plenty of attention. Pinnick has been in a big-game setting before, though not in this uniform, and WSU will need him to settle in quickly if it wants to keep pace in a matchup where both teams are adjusting to new pieces. For the Cougars, the stakes are obvious: a rivalry game, a new quarterback, and a defense expected to answer a familiar challenge in a different way. [Read more 🡒]