During the broadcast of last weekend’s football game between WSU and Louisiana Tech, CW’s Ryan Leaf reported that ESPN’s College Game Day series would be headed to James Madison University next weekend to feature the showdown between WSU and JMU.
It’s a decision that felt laugh-out-loud weird to college football fans across the country, especially with ranked matchups in both the BIG 10 and Big 12 next week, and the No. 2 vs No. 3 FCS showdown happening in Montana. Out of all the games to feature on national TV, the James Madison vs WSU choice felt suspect.
After further digging, the news had apparently been broken by an X account, “JMU Sporting News.”
It was the third time this season the account had reported Game Day would be headed to James Madison, and the third time the account turned out to be wrong.
“We reported last night that College GameDay was coming to JMU for the Dukes’ game vs. Washington State. We were wrong. We had a trusted source provide us incorrect information. This is an embarrassing mistake. We apologize for the significant error.”
The account posted that message on their X feed the next morning, when Game Day revealed they would actually be heading back to Eugene, OR, to cover a ranked showdown between the Ducks and Trojans.
The damage had already been done. Tickers for the JMU vs WSU game soared in price Saturday night, as high as $300. The CW broadcast team, instead of fact-checking the news, ran with the story. After the game, the CW sideline reporters told WSU players and coaches the incorrect news that Game Day would be following them to James Madison.
It is very possible this mistake in reporting led to very real consequences among fans. Game Day is an electric experience, and it is likely that fans of both teams, upon learning that Game Day would be at JMU, made arrangements to attend the game. For fans out of town, that could have included the purchase of plane tickets and hotel rooms.
An embarrassing mistake of reporting likely led to fans spending their money to attend an event that was never happening.
It is unclear if Game Day was ever planning to head to JMU. It is possible ESPN changed venues at the last second, but it is just as possible ESPN was always planning on Oregon, and the JMU Sporting News account simply had wrong information.
Hopefully, this incident will lead to a wider conversation about journalism ethics.
It would be different if JMU Sporting News were a fan account with a few hundred followers, but that is not the case. The account has over 12,000 followers and is verified with a blue checkmark on X. They are categorized as a “media and news company.”
For an account that clearly wants to be taken seriously, they need to take their own job seriously as well. Good journalism is not about being the first person to break the story. It is about being accurate and not making mistakes, especially mistakes that could cost your own readers time and money.
