The CW Network Sets Broadcast Teams for 2026 ACC, Pac-12, and Mountain West College Football Season
Network to Broadcast 140 Hours of Regular Season College Football This Fall Beginning on Saturday, August 29 with New Mexico State at Florida State
Thom Brennaman Returns for His Third Year as Lead Play-by-Play Commentator for ACC Games Alongside Booth Analyst Jason Cabinda and Sideline Analyst Wes Bryant
Pac-12 Broadcast Team Includes Rick Allen as Lead Play-by-Play Commentator, Will Blackmon as Booth Analyst and Michael Bumpus as Sideline Analyst
Mountain West Broadcast Crew Features Jack McMullen as Play-by-Play Commentator, Cody Kessler as Booth Analyst and Marshall Newhouse as Sideline Analyst
Play-by-Play Commentator Chris Fisher, Booth Analyst Isaiah Stanback and Sideline Analyst Bryan Walters to Call Select Pac-12 and Mountain West Games
“CW Football Saturday Countdown” Live Pre-Show Returns with Host Mike Yam and Lead Analyst George Wrighster
The CW Network today announced its broadcast teams calling the upcoming 2026 college football season, featuring the largest offering of regular season games in network history with 140 hours of live college football broadcast this fall across the ACC, Pac-12, and Mountain West conferences.
The CW’s broadcast team for ACC games will once again be led by veteran broadcaster Thom Brennaman, who is returning for his third year as play-by-play announcer for CW Sports. Brennaman spent 26 years at FOX Sports calling the network’s marquee NFL and MLB games, including numerous postseason and World Series matchups. He previously served as the television voice for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds. Brennaman will be joined by booth analyst Jason Cabinda, a former Penn State linebacker who played for six years in the NFL with the Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders. He is a contributor for CBS Sports HQ GameDay Recap and has hosted the Penn State football pregame show for the past three seasons. Wes Bryant, former offensive lineman for Wake Forest and the co-host of the “Wes & Walker Show” on 92.7 FM WFNZ in Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as a host/producer for the ACC Digital Network, also returns as sideline analyst.
Pac-12 games on The CW will feature play-by-play announcer Rick Allen, booth analyst Will Blackmon and sideline analyst Michael Bumpus. Allen has served as a lead announcer for FOX Sports, NBC Sports and CW Sports over the last 23 years, most recently serving as lead commentator for the PBA Tour on The CW. He has called various events, including NASCAR and Indycar racing, the World Track and Field Championships, and college football and basketball. He is currently one of the public address announcers for the Carolina Panthers. Blackmon is a 12-year NFL veteran, Super Bowl XLVI champion with the New York Giants, and played for Green Bay, Jacksonville, and Washington. A Boston College Hall of Fame inductee, he previously served as booth analyst for CW Sports’ ACC games last season. Bumpus is a former wide receiver for the Washington State Cougars who hosts the Seattle sports radio “Bump and Stacy Show” and is the lead host for Seahawks radio.
The Mountain West broadcast crew includes Jack McMullen as play-by-play announcer, Cody Kessler as booth analyst and Marshall Newhouse as sideline analyst. McMullen has served as the radio play-by-play voice of the Miami Marlins for the past two seasons, in addition to serving as a podcast and digital host with Just Baseball Media. Kessler is a former USC quarterback and four-year NFL veteran, playing for the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots. His broadcasting credits include multiple shows and podcasts for USC Media Network and ESPN LA, as well as a guest co-host on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.” Newhouse is an 11-year NFL veteran offensive tackle originally drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2010 and a part of their Super Bowl XLV championship team. He is currently a radio color analyst for TCU football and the co-host of the “Just Win Podcast” covering the Las Vegas Raiders.
Play-by-play announcer Chris Fisher, booth analyst Isaiah Stanback and sideline analyst Bryan Walters join CW Sports to call select Pac-12 and Mountain West games this fall. An Emmy® Award-winning broadcaster, Fisher has spent the last eight seasons as the television play-by-play voice of the Oklahoma City Thunder. His previous television work includes basketball play-by-play for FS1, Big Ten Network, Fox Sports West, Pac-12 Network and Time Warner Cable. Stanback is a four-time Emmy® Award-winning sports analyst, previously serving as color commentator for Dallas Cowboys preseason broadcasts as well as calling Texas high school football game of the week broadcasts for Victory+. Before his six-year NFL career, which included a Super Bowl victory with the New York Giants in 2012, Stanback was a standout quarterback at the University of Washington. Walters is a member of the Seattle Seahawks Radio Network broadcast team, serves as a game day analyst for FOX 13 Seattle’s Seahawks coverage and appears weekly on Washington Sports Wrap. He spent seven years as a wide receiver in the NFL, winning Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seattle Seahawks.
Mike Yam returns to CW Sports as the host of “CW Football Saturday Countdown” studio show alongside lead analyst and former Oregon tight end George Wrighster as they preview that day’s lineup on The CW featuring exclusive insight and expert analysis. Yam currently serves as a studio host at NFL Network while also regularly appearing on NBA TV as the host of The Association. Before joining NFL Network, Yam spent nine years as the lead studio host for Pac-12 Networks, anchoring marquee pre- and postgame coverage for football and basketball.
The 2026 college football season kicks off on The CW on Saturday, August 29 at 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT with a Week 0 ACC non-conference game as New Mexico State visits Florida State for a primetime showdown. Mountain West games begin on Saturday, September 5 at 10:00pm ET/7:00pm PT with a late-night conference battle between UNLV and Hawai‘i, while the new Pac-12 makes its 2026 debut on Saturday, September 12 at 3:30pm ET/12:30pm PT with a Lone Star State matchup between the University of Texas at San Antonio and Texas State University.
Raycom Sports will produce all ACC games for The CW. Pac-12 Enterprises will produce all Pac-12 games and “CW Football Saturday Countdown” for The CW. GameTime Productions will produce all Mountain West games for The CW.
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The CW is one of America’s premier broadcast networks, delivering 18 hours per week of primetime entertainment and children’s programming plus, on average, more than 13 hours of sports programming every weekend. CW Sports is the broadcast home to almost 700 hours of sports programming annually, including the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series; WWE NXT; college football and men’s and women’s basketball from the ACC, Pac-12 and Mountain West conferences; AVP beach volleyball, Professional Bull Riding Team Series; and Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) events. Beginning Summer 2026, CW Sports content will be available on the ESPN App to ESPN Unlimited Plan subscribers. CW Entertainment offers a variety of popular scripted and unscripted programming, including Wild Cards, Sullivan’s Crossing, Police 24/7, Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Scrabble, and Trivial Pursuit. The CW’s primetime and other entertainment programming can be found on the CW App, available for free to consumers on all major platforms, and beginning Fall 2026 will be available in a CW-branded hub on The Roku Channel. The CW is owned by Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST), a leading diversified media company. For more information about The CW, please visit www.cwtv.com.
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