Where is 'The Bear' from 'College GameDay' going? Why did Chris leave ESPN?

Chris Fallica, aka 'The Bear' left ESPN's "College GameDay" show last year after almost three decades, catching football fans by surprise.

Fallica, the winner of several sports Emmys during his extensive career, departed to ESPN's biggest rival, Fox Sports show, "Big Noon Kickoff," after several layoffs at the network.

In his new role, he featured alongside a star-studded cast, including Urban Meyer, Brady Quinn, Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Charles Woodson at Fox Sports for a few months before pivoting again.

What happened to "The Bear" on College Gameday?

Chris "The Bear" Fallica left College Gameday to join Fox's Big Noon Kickoff in 2022. Fallica worked for College Gameday since 1996 as a research producer providing info and his takes on various topics throughout the show.

Fallica recently tapped into the podcast wave that has swept the sports world and started a college football podcast under the umbrella of Fox Sports. The show is called "Bear Bets: A FOX Sports Gambling Podcast" and will cover betting on both NFL and college football games.

There have been a raft of changes to the "College Football GameDay" cast alongside Chris Fallica leaving, with reporter Gene Wojciechowski and analyst David Pollack also heading for the exit. The Bear recently commented on the changes:

"We'll see how it unfolds. I think 'GameDay' will always be 'GameDay,' but I think it will come across different this year."

Who took the Bear's place on College GameDay?

"Stanford Steve" Coughlin replaced the Bear on College GameDay. Steve Coughlin more popularly known as "Stanford Steve", currently works as the sports betting analyst for College Gameday. Coughlin also has his own podcast, and writes columns for ESPN.com

Seth Markman, company Vice President, commented on the raft of changes instituted by the network:

"I don't think we look at it as a transition at all. It is an evolution of the show, which has been on top for 30 years."

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What next for ESPN's "College GameDay"?

ESPN signed former NFL player Pat McAfee to a five-year, $85 million contract, and his show, "The Pat McAfee Show," will air starting Sept. 7. Occasionally, it will air on the set of "College Football GameDay," where McAfee will be an analyst.

This move to poach McAfee from "FanDuel" coincided with the network getting rid of up to 20 well-regarded reporters. This has led to a storm of criticism from fans who linked the two events and criticized McAfee.

McAfee explained his version of events on X (formerly Twitter):

“We’re very pumped to be joining ESPN and our goal is that ‘Mass exits’ are never a thing again... we hope to help that.. obviously that’s a lofty goal but, that’s how I truly look at life…

"I wish we could’ve worked alongside a lot of the folks that got released today. Some absolute legends, that we all respect, in the sports media world were trending today for losing jobs. That sucks.. no matter how you slice it.”

McAfee will join Stephen A. Smith as the premier attraction to sports shows on ESPN.