Coverage begins on August 23rd
ESPN has named Machine Gun Kelly’s (MGK) “Don’t Wait Run Fast” as the anthem for its 2025-2026 college football coverage. The song, which appears on his forthcoming new album, Lost American, will premiere with kickoff coverage on Saturday, August 23rd.
“Music and college football have been intertwined for years, and our ESPN College Football anthem ushers in that first spark of the season. This 12th iteration, mgk brings a passionate, high-voltage sound that mirrors the raw emotion and untamed spirit of college football,” shares ESPN Vice President of Marketing Curtis Friends.
ESPN has collaborated with a musical artist for 12 years to create an anthem to drive excitement and awareness around ESPN’s college football coverage. Last year featured award-winning, Grammy-nominated Nashville native singer/songwriter Jelly Roll’s single “Get By.”
Other artists over the years include Post Malone, Fall Out Boy, Lauren Alaina, X Ambassadors, Thirty Seconds to Mars, Imagine Dragons, Judah & the Lion, Juice WRLD & Marshmello, DJ Snake & Rick Ross, and Yungblud.
ESPN remains the home of college football with an unparalleled portfolio of marquee rivalries, non-conference showcases, conference championship contests and comprehensive postseason coverage in 2025. Fresh off the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Live Series for the rookie season of the SEC on ABC franchise, and entering the second year of an all-in agreement with the SEC, the first year of a new, expanded rights deal with the Big 12 and its continued long-term all-in relationship with the ACC, ESPN will present approximately one thousand regular season games across all platforms, kicking off across the pond in Week 0 and concluding with the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T on Monday, January 19, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
ESPN’s production theme music for SEC on ABC remains its reorchestrated classic theme from the late 1990s/early 2000s.
