Utah fans chant expletives toward BYU, Oregon and USC during live broadcast of ‘The Pat McAfee Show’

Some Utah fans chanted expletives in reference to BYU, Oregon and USC during a live broadcast of “The Pat McAfee Show” on the University of Utah campus Friday.

“The Pat McAfee Show,” hosted by Indianapolis Colts punter-turned-media-host Pat McAfee, is known for being unconventional and irreverent, even displaying a warning before each show that there may be “cuss words” present on the broadcast.

McAfee mentioned Utah’s rival BYU a few times during the two-hour ESPN broadcast, stirring up the crowd positioned in the President’s Circle, with the university’s Park Building that houses the office of the president clearly in the background.

“(Expletive) BYU, (expletive) BYU!” some Utah fans responded, loud and clear enough to be heard on the YouTube broadcast of the show; ESPN censored it on broadcast television. The same chants, with a different school after the expletive, were repeated at times when Oregon or USC was mentioned. Clips from the show began appearing on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, and have now been shared repeatedly on social media platforms.

“The University of Utah has clear expectations for all athletic fans — including students and visitors to campus — to promote a positive environment that is respectful, safe, welcoming and family friendly,” a University of Utah spokesperson said.

“Chants that included profanity by spectators during an ESPN broadcast today were disappointing and against the university’s stated goal of creating a family-friendly experience. While the ESPN broadcast area is not a ticketed athletic venue, the university is asking spectators visiting campus this weekend to respect and abide by its FanUp guidelines. More at fanup.utah.edu.”

Utah plays Oregon in a key Pac-12 showdown Saturday at Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium. “College GameDay” and its analysts will host its show at 7 a.m. MDT Saturday in the same location as McAfee’s show.

The chant against BYU came after Utah quarterback Cam Rising was on stage during the broadcast and was addressing a comment about a particular sexual reference. He said that doesn’t occur at his university, but at the university down south in Provo, a reference to BYU, which maintains a strong honor code. Rising, Utah’s star quarterback, is out for the season with an injury suffered last year.

That started the crowd chanting in unison with the expletive against their state rival.

McAfee and crew play to the crowd during their live broadcasts, and “(expletive) opposing team or rival” chants have been heard at other “Pat McAfee Show” appearances on college campuses.

In recent years, both University of Oregon and University of Southern California have issued public apologies after fans chanted “(Expletive) the Mormons” during football games against BYU.