The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Pat McAfee Show to air live from Iowa City

The show will air live in Iowa City On Friday, March 22, ahead of the Iowa women’s basketball team’s NCAA Tournament opener.
Members+of+the+Iowa+basketball+team+celebrate+during+a+basketball+game+between+No.+2+Iowa+and+No.+5+Nebraska+at+the+TIAA+Big+Ten+Women%E2%80%99s+Basketball+Tournament+at+Target+Center+in+Minneapolis%2C+Minn.%2C+on+Sunday%2C+March+10%2C+2024.+The+Hawkeyes+defeated+the+Huskers%2C+94-89.
Ayrton Breckenridge
Members of the Iowa basketball team celebrate during a basketball game between No. 2 Iowa and No. 5 Nebraska at the TIAA Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on Sunday, March 10, 2024. The Hawkeyes defeated the Huskers, 94-89.

ESPN personality Pat McAfee announced on Wednesday the “Pat McAfee Show” will air live in Iowa City next Friday, March 22.

The Iowa women’s basketball team is expected to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament that same weekend at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The show will take place from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. CT  located at the Field House on 225 S. Grand Ave near Kinnick Stadium. Leati Anoa’i, more known as Roman Reigns from WWE, and former NFL player Dallas Clark will be special guests on the show.

The “Pat McAfee Show” is a sports talk show that began production on ESPN in fall 2023. Featured on the show is Ty Schmidt, a Waterloo, Iowa, native and 2014 University of Iowa graduate who produces the popular ESPN show that gathers 886,000 average viewers per episode across live channels as of Jan. 5, 2024.

“We are very thankful that this relationship with ESPN has afforded us an opportunity to be able to go back to Ty Schmidt’s school during a time in which Iowa is experiencing a once-in-a-generation type run that will catapult the Iowa Hawkeyes into a successful organization for the next  20 years probably because of what Caitlin Clark is doing,” McAfee said of the show’s scheduled appearance in Iowa City next week.

McAfee mentioned “there’s a chance” that the show will take place inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena if the Iowa women’s basketball’s first NCAA Tournament game takes place on Saturday. If the game falls on Friday, then it will take place at the Field House. 

The Iowa women’s basketball team enters the NCAA Tournament with the second-best odds to win the national championship at +600 behind South Carolina at -120, according to Fox Sports and DraftKings Sportsbook.

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About the Contributors
Chris Meglio
Chris Meglio, Sports Reporter
(he/him/his)
Chris Meglio is a first year student at the University of Iowa studying a double major in sport studies and journalism. He will be working as a sports journalist for The Daily Iowan covering women's volleyball for the fall sports season.
Ayrton Breckenridge
Ayrton Breckenridge, Managing Visuals Editor
(he/him/his)
Ayrton Breckenridge is the Managing Visuals Editor at The Daily Iowan. He is a senior at the University of Iowa majoring in journalism and cinema. This is his fourth year working for the DI.