ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit Officially Responds To Accusations Of 'Bias'

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ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit Officially Responds To Accusations Of 'Bias'

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit has heard the “bias” accusations.

The Worldwide Leader in Sports has a 10-year, $3 billion TV contract with the SEC. The Big Ten, meanwhile, airs most of its games on FOX, NBC and CBS. Many college football fans have accused Herbstreit and the rest of ESPN of propping up the SEC. The Big Ten has won the last two national championships after all, with Michigan winning in 2023 and Ohio State winning in 2024.

But is ESPN actually biased in favor of the SEC or is the conference simply full of several elite college football teams? Herbstreit, appearing on a podcast this week, responded to the accusations.

Kirk Herbstreit responded to the accusations on “The Ryen Russillo Show.”© Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Herbstreit appeared this week on the debut episode of “The Ryen Russillo Show.” The show, led by Russillo – a former ESPN Radio host who previously worked at The Ringer – is part of Barstool Sports.

Russillo asked Herbstreit about the accusations of an SEC “bias” going on at ESPN. Herbstreit isn’t here for it.

The ESPN college football analyst, an Ohio State graduate, said that he would love to promote the Big Ten. However, he believes that the SEC is simply full of elite teams.

Herbstreit fires back at the accusations

The ESPN college football analyst made it clear that he believes there’s no “bias” going on.

“Let me ask you this. The coaches do a poll, the AP does a poll, the CFB Rankings do a poll. They all must be guilty of an SEC bias, the coaches as well, because the coaches put together a poll,” he said.

“I went to Ohio State, I was a captain at Ohio State. You don’t think I want to promote the Big Ten? You think it makes me happy to sit there and promote good teams? I would love for the SEC to have three teams in the Top 25 and the Big Ten to have eight. But you go by what you watch.”

Herbstreit added that it’s the NFL, too.

“The NFL in April, when they draft these players, the SEC (dominates),” he added.

Herbstreit is fed up.

“Why is this a thing? Why do people think it’s a thing? It’s such (expletive). It’s called watching football, that’s what you do,” he added.

Herbstreit is clearly extremely passionate about the topic, to the point that he’s defensive about it.

He’s right, of course. Herbstreit is an Ohio State graduate and a Big Ten guy. Personally, he would love nothing more than for the conference to be dominant (and, when it comes to winning national championships, as of late, they have been).

But as long as ESPN has the rights to the SEC, and a rival network in FOX has the rights to the Big Ten, there’s always going to be accusations of bias. FOX faces them when it comes to the Big Ten, too, though not as loudly as the accusations that are hurled ESPN’s way.

This story was originally reported by The Spun on Nov 5, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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