ESPN reveals the College GameDay guest picker for Duke vs. Notre Dame in Durham

Steve Wiseman

Mr. Chow will join ESPN’s College GameDay set on Saturday.

The network selected actor, comedian and Duke graduate Ken Jeong to serve as the guest picker when the College GameDay football pregame broadcasts from Duke’s campus on Saturday ahead of that night’s football game between No. 17 Duke and No. 11 Notre Dame at Wallace Wade Stadium.

The 54-year-old Jeong received his undergraduate degree from Duke in 1990. He’s played Mr. Chow on the popular movie, “The Hangover” and its two sequels, as well as appearing in other movies such as “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Knocked Up” and “Couples Retreat.” In addition, he’s contributed voice work to animated films “Despicable Me” and “Penguins of Madagascar.”

In addition to his stand-up comedy career, he currently serves as a judge on Fox’s “The Masked Singer.” He appeared in NBC’s “Community” from 2009 to 2015 and in starred in the ABC comedy “Dr. Ken” from 2015-17.

Actor Ken Jeong, a graduate of Duke University, is scheduled to speak at the Class of 2020’s long-awaited in-person commencement ceremony.
Actor Ken Jeong, a graduate of Duke University, is scheduled to speak at the Class of 2020’s long-awaited in-person commencement ceremony.

Born in Detroit and raised in Greensboro, Jeong graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill Medical School in 1995 and practiced as a physician in California until becoming a full-time actor. While in medical school, he started doing stand-up comedy at clubs in Raleigh and Durham.

Since moving to California, he’s occasionally returned to Cameron Indoor Stadium for Duke basketball games over the years.

ESPN’s College GameDay will broadcast from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday from the Abele Quad, which sits directly in front of Duke Chapel off Chapel Drive on Duke’s West Campus. The show will be on ESPN and ESPNU.

The pit area directly behind the stage will open at 7 a.m. for spectators to take their places.

Ken Jeong takes a selfie with some Cameron Crazies before Dukes game against UNC at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., Saturday, March 5, 2022.
Ken Jeong takes a selfie with some Cameron Crazies before Dukes game against UNC at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., Saturday, March 5, 2022.

In a News & Observer online poll, readers preferred Mike Krzyzewski fill the guest picker role. The retired basketball coach, his sport’s all-time leader in coaching wins who led Duke to five NCAA championships, received 32% of the votes cast. Jeong was next at 25%, followed by Jay Bilas (10%), Jerry Seinfeld (9%) and Steve Spurrier (8%).

The football version of ESPN’s popular GameDay television show is broadcasting from Duke for the first time. The network has broadcast basketball GameDay shows from Duke on 12 previous occasions.

This is only the third time the football GameDay show has broadcast from a Triangle campus. The previous two times were 1997 when North Carolina played Florida State, and in 2004 for an N.C. State game with Miami.

The GameDay show began in 1987 as a studio show before it began going live from campus sites in 1993.

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