Report: Chris 'The Bear' Fallica leaving ESPN to join FOX

ESPN’s College GameDay is losing a big piece of its crew. Chris “The Bear” Fallica is leaving ESPN to join FOX, according to Awful Announcing.

Fallica has been with ESPN since 1995 and it’s presumed he’ll be joining FOX’s “Big Noon Kickoff” pregame show to help with sports betting coverage. One of the staples of College GameDay is Fallica’s Board, featuring three picks for that slate of games. Saturday is believed mark his last appearance on the show, Awful Announcing’s Ben Koo reported.

In addition to his work on College GameDay, Fallica also co-hosts a podcast with “Stanford Steve” Coughlin, who notably provides sports betting analysis on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt.

Fallica joins Tom Rinaldi as notable ESPN personalities to depart the network for FOX in recent years. The “BIg Noon Kickoff” crew consists of Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, Brady Quinn and Urban Meyer.

ESPN College GameDay heading to Arlington for Big 12 Championship game

Conference championship week is going to determine a lot for the 2023 college football season, with playoff implications on the line. The Power Five conferences will always have something at stake but arguably none more than the Big 12, which is looking for a return to the CFP. As a result, ESPN College GameDay will be following the storyline and heading to Arlington.

AT&T Stadium is the site for the Big 12 Championship game as Rece Davis and the GameDay crew will be there. At the moment, TCU is the only confirmed team playing in the game. Kansas State can get in with a win over Kansas, while Texas would benefit from a Wildcats loss. Nonetheless, Sonny Dyke’s squad will be the point of focus.

TCU will march onto the field after an undefeated regular season, being the first Big 12 program to do so since Texas in 2009. A win against Kansas State or Texas and they will be making an appearance in the College Football Playoff. Momentum is on their side too, making definitive statements over the past few weeks.