Kirk Herbstreit

Infobox Person
name = Kirk Herbstreit


caption = Kirk Herbstreit wraps up an episode of ESPN "College GameDay"
birth_date = birth date and age|1969|8|19
birth_place = Centerville, Montgomery County, Ohio
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = College Football Analyst
spouse = Allison Butler
parents =
children = Identical twins, Jake and Tye, born June 16, 2000, a 4-year-old boy, Zak (12/9/2003), and another son, Chase (August 2006).

Kirk Herbstreit (born August 19 1969, Centerville, Ohio) is an analyst for ESPN's "College GameDay", a television program covering college football and a provider of color commentary during college football games on ESPN and ABC. He appears annually as a commentator in EA Sports' "NCAA Football".

Playing career

Kirk was a four-year letter winner as a quarterback at Ohio State University from 1989–1993. He graduated from Centerville High School in Centerville, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton. He was the Ohio Player of the Year as a senior for Centerville, as well as a standout table tennis player.

Herbstreit was the first player to commit to the Ohio State Buckeyes after the hiring of John Cooper as head coach in 1988. After waiting his turn as a Buckeye starter behind Greg Frey and Kent Graham, Herbstreit finally led the team as a senior in 1992. That year he was a co-captain (along with linebacker Steve Tovar) and was voted team MVP. Herbstreit passed for 1,904 yards that season, including four 200+ yard games, before losing to the Georgia Bulldogs in the Florida Citrus Bowl. As a college quarterback, Herbstreit had held the Ohio State record for pass completions in the rivalry game against Michigan. He completed 28 passes in a 1992 tie game. His 271-yard game against arch-rival University of Michigan, to earn a 13–13 tie, is believed to have saved Coach Cooper's job.fact|date=August 2008

Herbstreit's father, Jim Herbstreit, had been a co-captain (along with offensive tackle Jim Tyrer) of the 1960 Ohio State team, and was later an assistant coach at Ohio State under Woody Hayes. When Kirk Herbstreit was named co-captain in 1992, the two became only the second father-and-son duo to have each been Ohio State captains. (James and Jeff Davidson were the first in 1989; Pepper and Dionte Johnson became the third in 2007.)

Kirk Herbstreit graduated from Ohio State in 1993 with a degree in business administration.

Broadcasting career

Chris Fowler and Lee Corso sit alongside Herbstreit on the ESPN "College GameDay" set, discussing the day's college football games, and analyzing highlights and players. "College GameDay" frequently makes Saturday road trips to various colleges around the United States to preview the school's upcoming football game. He was nominated for a 1997 Sports Emmy Award as television’s top studio analyst, along with Cris Collinsworth (eventual winner), Howie Long, Terry Bradshaw and Steve Lyons. He is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com and "ESPN The Magazine". In 1997, he wrote a weekly in-season column—"Inside The Game With Kirk Herbstreit"—for "The Sporting News". Herbstreit previously worked Thursday night games for ESPN as a color commentator, and he is currently in the booth for Saturday night college football games on ABC.

On December 1, 2007, Herbstreit reported that LSU coach Les Miles was to be the next head coach for the University of Michigan. His report reached the LSU team during their pregame preparations for the 2007 SEC Conference Championship game and forced Miles to call an emergency press conference to deny the report, which ultimately proved incorrect. Chastened by the Miles episode, Herbstreit later declared "you will never see me gathering news and reporting information ever again."

Herbstreit is also a contributor to the Columbus, Ohio based AM radio station 1460 The Fan; 1460 is also an ESPN Radio affiliate and a weekly contibutor to the WFNZ radio program Primetime with the Packman during the college football season hosted by long-time sports broadcaster Billy Packer's son, Mark Packer. When not on assignment for ESPN, Herbstreit is a co-host of the 4–7 p.m. show called "The Big Show", along with Bruce Hooley. Also in July 2007, he served as a panelist for the series "Who's Now" alongside Keyshawn Johnson and Michael Wilbon.

Herbstreit is also a regular co-host on ESPN Radio's "Tirico and Van Pelt" that airs from 1 p.m. through 3 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on weekdays.

Personal life

Allison Butler (former Ohio State cheerleader) and Herbstreit were married in June 1998. They have identical twin sons, Jake and Tye, born June 16 2000, a 4-year-old boy, Zak (12/9/2003), and another son, Chase (August 2006). All of Herbstreit's children appeared on College GameDay with their father in full Buckeye dress as Herbstreit picked Ohio State to beat Penn State University on September 23rd, 2006. Herbstreit lives with his family in Upper Arlington, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. On Colin Cowherd's radio show, it was noted that Herbstreit is an avid Star Wars fan.