ESPN explain Chesney selection

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“He’s a top music superstar,” he said. “(Chesney directing the Spurrier documentary) didn’t play all that much into the decision. It’s Kenny Chesney. Am I the biggest fan of country music? No, absolutely not. But I’m smart enough to recognize that Chesney is a mega-superstar. It’s a win for the show.”

The process for deciding a picker is simple. Fitting said that a lot of the selection is between himself and host Chris Fowler. There are no rules, no guidelines, but looking at it from the show’s perspective, they want to get the most high-profile, entertaining person they can find on any given week.

Does the picker have to have a connection to the school? Not necessarily.

“If they have ties to the host school, great, if not, that’s great, too,” Fitting said. “We’re doing the show for the 1.5 or 2 million people watching at home, trying to entertain them. We just think they’re going to be a fun celebrity picker.”

The host school is allowed to make suggestions to the show, as is anybody who wants to chime in – fan, student, whoever. In this case, one athletic official said that USC had no input on the decision, but Fitting said they received one recommendation from USC, which was basketball coach Frank Martin.

“That’s a common one, a lot of schools recommend their men’s basketball coach,” Fitting said. “It’s sort of something we don’t do – not saying we wouldn’t do it, but we try to branch out from the sports world when we can.”

Fitting admitted that they had Chesney in mind and already lined up

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quote:

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(Chesney directing the Spurrier documentary) didn’t play all that much into the decision.

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