Miami Hurricanes benefactor and baseball legend Alex Rodriguez was the celebrity guest picker on ESPN College Gameday ahead of the game with Clemson Saturday night.
Alex Rodriguez appeared as the celebrity guest picker on ESPN College Gameday ahead of the Miami Hurricanes game at Clemson Saturday night. Rodriguez is a major benefactor to the Miami athletic department. In 2009, A-Rod donated $3.9 million to the Miami baseball program.
As a thank you for the domination the Miami athletic department named their baseball stadium Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. A-Rod entered Saturday’s prognostications with an all-time best Gameday record of 12-0. In 2017 when Gameday broadcast live from Coral Gables for the only time, Rodriguez appeared.
Rodriguez appeared at the end of the program when celebrities join a panel with host Rece Davis and analysts Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack. Currently, Rodriguez is a baseball analyst for ESPN and Fox Sports. Rodriguez took time out of his busy schedule broadcasting the MLB playoffs.
Rodriguez clearly knows more than baseball. During his Alabama pick, A-Rod projected a win proclaiming Roll Tide. A New York native, Rodriguez grew up in Miami and attended Columbus High School and Westminster Christian School. Rodriguez’s allegiances to Miami run deep.
Heart over head 💚🧡
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 10, 2020
You know @AROD had to go with The U 🙌 pic.twitter.com/o3Jw3CcpfB
As expected Rodriguez chose Miami stating “Going to be the jersey and the heart. boys are back. going to take down number one today.” This was the third game in a row for Miami on Gameday and the game against Clemson the third in a row on the ABC Primetime game of the Week for the Hurricanes.
Miami getting the exposure and having a prominent Miami fan like Rodriguez appearing on Gameday on their behalf is beneficial for the Hurricanes football program. If Miami continues to produce on the field this will not likely be their last appearance nationally in 2020.