Throughout his illustrious coaching career, Nick Saban became quite accustomed to keeping a full trophy case, winning seven National Championships between his time at LSU and Alabama. And on Tuesday, he received another trophy to put alongside his National Championships in honor of his hot start at ESPN.
Saban stormed onto the scene this past college football season, becoming a fixture on College GameDay alongside the likes of Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, and Pat McAfee. Additionally, Saban served on ESPN’s coverage of both the 2024 and 2025 NFL Drafts, along with representing the network at the SEC’s Media Days in 2024.
Many of his co-stars on College GameDay have praised Saban for how naturally he was able to fit into the show, which is exactly what he received even more credit for on Tuesday night, winning a Sports Emmy for “Outstanding Emerging On-Air Talent” at the 46th annual edition of the award show.
Saban spoke about what winning the award would have meant on Tuesday morning after being named a nominee for the award from his annual Nick’s Kids Foundation Golf Tournament, explaining how he has been helped a lot by the experience of his College GameDay castmates.
“A lot of people helped contribute to learning how to do it,” said Saban in a conversation with WBRC 6 News in Birmingham, Alabama. “So I certainly appreciate them and thank them for that. We’ve got a really good team of people with lots of experience that I think helped me fit into the program.”
After winning the award, Rece Davis spoke to Saban’s on-air talent in a celebratory post on social media, calling him “a brilliant communicator no matter what the setting”.
“This is fantastic,” wrote Davis on X. “Nick was extraordinary. A brilliant communicator no matter what the setting. Team room. Board room. Gameday set. He crushes all of them. Congratulations! Many more to come!”
On all fronts, Saban has certainly been a great addition to ESPN’s college football coverage thus far, which we at Awful Announcing highlighted by naming him the best addition in all of sports media in our 2024 Awfulies.