Jess Sims College GameDay Role Grows for 40th Season

Peloton instructor Jess Sims returns to ESPN’s pregame show and adds a new co-hosting role as the franchise marks its 40th season

Peloton instructor Jess Sims is heading back to ESPN for a new season, and her role is bigger than before. Jess Sims College GameDay duties will continue for the 2026-27 season, ESPN confirmed this week, as the full nine-member on-air team reunites for the show’s 40th season and its 500th episode on the road.

Rece Davis returns as host alongside analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban and “Stanford Steve” Coughlin. Jen Lada, Pete Thamel and Sims round out the reporting team throughout the season. This year also marks 30 years since Herbstreit’s first appearance on the show in Boulder, Colorado, on September 14, 1996.

The season’s first three stops are set. College GameDay opens in Baton Rouge for Week 1, moves to Austin for Week 2, then heads to Oxford, Mississippi, for Week 3, where Lane Kiffin makes his return to Ole Miss as LSU’s head coach. It is the first time since 2002 that the show’s opening three episodes have come from three different preseason AP Top 15 campuses, with LSU at 11th, Texas at 5th and Ole Miss at 9th.

Jess Sims College GameDay Role Expands With New Hosting Job

Beyond her returning reporter role, Sims is taking on a new assignment this season. She joins Harry Douglas and Harry Lyles Jr. as a co-host of Countdown to GameDay Presented by Dr Pepper, ESPN’s social and digital pre-pregame show. Douglas and Lyles Jr. are entering their fifth season leading Countdown to GameDay, and Sims will contribute live reporting from the scene each week. The show streams weekly at 8:20 a.m. ET on ESPN’s YouTube channel, Facebook page and the ESPN App.

The added role builds on a media career Sims has steadily grown since joining the Jess Sims College GameDay cast in 2022. She has since expanded into men’s college basketball as a Saturday Primetime sideline reporter and, most recently, hosted ESPN’s Courtside alt-cast debut at the 2026 NCAA Women’s Final Four. Her ESPN work runs alongside her ongoing schedule as a Peloton instructor, where she teaches tread, strength and cardio classes.

A Milestone Year for the Full GameDay Cast

College GameDay enters this season coming off its most-viewed year in show history and a third straight Sports Emmy win for Outstanding Weekly Sports Studio Show, giving the franchise 17 Sports Emmys overall. ESPN Vice President of Production Matthew Garrett credited the on-air team’s storytelling and consistency for the show’s staying power, calling the cast “the connective tissue between the game and the fans.”

For Peloton members who have followed Sims since her 2018 debut on the Tread roster, the Jess Sims College GameDay expansion is another marker of how far her sports media career has traveled. Her full instructor bio and class schedule remain available on Peloton’s instructor page. College GameDay Built by The Home Depot kicks off Week 1 from Baton Rouge, with Sims reporting on-site and co-hosting Countdown to GameDay as the coverage begins.

  The Clip Out is an independent Peloton news site with reporting, analysis, and community insights. We deliver breaking updates, feature reporting, and expert context on the stories driving the community and the industry. Our weekly podcast offers deeper conversation and perspective, and you can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, TuneIn, and YouTube Music. You can also follow us on our socials on Facebook, Threads, Instagram, BlueSky, and YouTube. See something in the Peloton universe that you think we should know? Visit us at theclipout.com and submit a tip.