‘College GameDay’ gets New Host Rece Davis

ESPN's "College GameDay" will have a new host. The network announced that Chris Fowler is leaving the show and will focus on calling Saturday prime-games while Rece Davis takes over as the new host.

"I'm extremely pleased to continue to call ESPN my professional home," Davis said. "The past 20 years have been extraordinarily rewarding and this new chapter as the host of 'College GameDay' is one I eagerly embrace. I've cared deeply about college football my entire life. As a result, I'm humbled and grateful to join the brilliant men and women who have built 'GameDay' into the sport's defining show."

The network added that Davis has signed a contract extension through to 2021. Davis will no longer call Thursday night college football games. Davis joined ESPN in 1995.

"This agreement reflects our belief that Rece Davis is one of the very best in the industry," said John Wildhack, ESPN's executive vice president for programming and production.

Fowler has been a host of "GameDay" since 1990. During last season, Fowler replaced Brent Musburger as the ESPN's lead play-by-play announcer for college football. In other to fulfill the duties for both positions, Fowler would often be required to travel from one location to the next in order to film both ESPN's "GameDay" and ABC's "Saturday Night Football." Fowler stated initially in 2014 that he wanted to do both roles. However, per Thursday's announcement, Fowler will now focus only on one main task.

"I am truly proud and gratified to have hosted 'College GameDay' for the past 25 years, from the humble early days in the studio to its present place on the sports TV landscape," Fowler said. "Traveling the country with Lee (Corso), Kirk, Desmond (Howard), and the whole 'GameDay' family as we shared Saturday mornings with passionate football fans has been professionally and personally rewarding ... and unforgettable fun."