Scott Hanson admits he would be open to hosting college football RedZone

With ESPN acquiring the rights of NFL Network, questions have poured in about the future of NFL RedZone. Some have even gone a step further, wondering if college football could get a similar type of show going. Getting everything centralized instead of flipping channels or using multiple screens would help fans across the country.

Turns out, Scott Hanson would be interested in hosting college football RedZone. He spoke directly to ESPN officials when appearing on The Rich Eisen Show. As hard as it may be to believe, Hanson claims to be just as passionate about college football.

“If Bob Iger, Jimmy Pitaro want to hit me up,” Hanson said. “I love college every bit as much as I love the pros.”

Hanson does admit there might be some challenges with college football RedZone, though. One of which does involve ESPN and other networks. If ESPN is going to host the program, other networks likely will not be willing to allow the Worldwide Leader to broadcast their games. A collaborative effort with the likes of CBS, FOX, and NBC might be required.

Another would be different kickoff times throughout the sport. College football is different than the NFL, where there are really only two time slots during a normal Sunday slate.

“There’s a lot of different dynamics,” Hanson said. “If you were to do a college football RedZone. First of all, ESPN doesn’t have the rights to every contract. Second of all, the kickoffs are not all synchronized. Yeah, you get a good batch kicking off at noon ET but they’re not all synchronized, they’re all at different times.”

Hanson also believes college football not being as popular, when compared to the NFL, might be a problem. No sport in America is consumed more than the NFL throughout the calendar year — even when the season is not ongoing. College football, while still immensely popular, is just not at the same level.

Still, the upcoming Week 1 schedule might be a perfect example of why college football RedZone is needed. Three top-10 matchups are set to take place after the preseason AP poll was released on Monday afternoon. All in different time slots, fans want to watch the big-time matchups while still focusing on their own team.

If ESPN does want to take on the project, it can at least check off one box. Hanson appears more than willing to be the show’s host.