Rece Davis to Replace Chris Fowler on ESPN's 'College GameDay'

For the upcoming college football season, fans won't be able to hear the dulcet tones of Chris Fowler as they awaken on Saturday morning.

Rece Davis will be replacing Fowler for the upcoming season of College GameDay. John Wildhack, ESPN executive vice president, programming and production, provided a statement on the news via espnmediazone.com Thursday: 

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This agreement reflects our belief that Rece Davis is one of the very best in the industry. He’s established himself as a versatile and polished pro. Chris Fowler was instrumental in building College GameDay into an award-winning and iconic program that transcends sports with its excellence, relevance and influence on the public discourse. With Rece on board, we know College GameDay will remain the show of record for college football fans.

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James Andrew Miller, coauthor of the ESPN oral history Those Guys Have All the Fun, first broke the news.

This is a major shakeup to the popular college football show, which Fowler hosted since 1990. Although the program has added and subtracted various analysts over the years, he, Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso helped turn College GameDay into a Saturday institution.

Fowler took to Twitter to thank fans and compliment his replacement: 

Many will likely wonder what drove ESPN's decision:

The wheels for this move were likely set in motion when Fowler replaced Brent Musburger as the lead announcer for ABC's Saturday night college football games.

Shortly thereafter, Awful Announcing's Matt Yoder asked what would happen to Davis, whose contract was set to expire soon. He was in a position to take a greater role in the company's college football or college basketball programming.

Now, Davis is taking over one of the most coveted spots in sports broadcasting.

Although some will likely see this as a demotion for Fowler, Miller added that he won't be lacking for high-profile broadcasting opportunities in the future:

Davis has proven himself over the years hosting a multitude of ESPN shows, including its College Football Final on Saturday nights.

While the absence of Fowler will take a little getting used to, Davis is a natural successor and should ensure College GameDay remains one the best pregame shows in sports.