The 2024 national title carried a deeper significance for the Ohio State Buckeyes alum Kirk Herbstreit—a lifetime Ohio loyalist. He spent the season doing what he does best—breaking down matchups, delivering insight, and bringing the energy that’s made him a staple of the sport for decades. But while the Ohio State alum was locked in on Saturdays, breaking down Xs and Os for millions, his personal life was playing out like a script no one ever wants to read. Juggling the demands of his ESPN role while carrying the weight of a family crisis behind the scenes, Herbstreit was waging battles that had nothing to do with football. And when he finally opened up about it, the legendary broadcaster peeled back layers of his life that most had never seen.
Herbstreit has always been a family-first guy, and the roots of that mindset go back decades. Long before he was one of college football’s most respected voices, he was a terrified new father staring at two fragile newborns fighting for their lives. “My identical twins were born at two pounds each. They were born at 28 weeks. That was my introduction to being a dad,” he revealed on the Pure Athlete podcast, his voice heavy with emotion. The images never left him.
“I could take my ring—I always say to people to give them an understanding—I take the ring off my finger, go down their foot, all the way up to their hipbone because their legs were like the size of your finger. And their skin was transparent.” His twins, Jake and Tye, spent eight agonizing weeks in the NICU, hooked up to machines, battling for every breath.
That kind of start to fatherhood reshapes you. It builds a paranoia, an overprotectiveness that never truly fades. Kirk Herbstreit admitted as much. “Just so concerned about them because of the images that we dealt with,” he said, revealing that his wife, Alison, had an “incompetent cervix,” which had made the pregnancy a terrifying ordeal from the start. But fatherhood didn’t get any easier.
Just last summer, OSU TE and his son Zak Herbstreit’s football career was turned upside down in a matter of days. What doctors initially thought was pneumonia turned out to be a heart condition, forcing him to step away from the game he loved. “He had to medically retire, and I think the gratitude I have for [coach] Ryan Day putting his arms around Zak and keeping him involved,” Herbstreit said, emphasizing how much it meant Ryan Day didn’t turn his back on his son.
But even as he processed Zak’s sudden football retirement, an even bigger storm was brewing. In early 2024, the family got the news no one ever wants to hear—Alison had been diagnosed with breast cancer. “My wife got diagnosed with breast cancer, you know, (our family dog) Ben dies. It was just a lot of emotion,” he later admitted on The Pat McAfee Show. Through it all, Herbstreit did what he’s always done—shouldered the burden and kept moving forward, even when life seemed determined to knock him down.
Despite everything, his commitment to fatherhood never wavered. He was traveling constantly, splitting time between ESPN’s College GameDay and Thursday Night Football, but his kids were always the priority. “To me it’s simple like they were the priority period,” Herbstreit said later in the 32:00 minute mark of the 1v1, making it clear that even with a demanding career, his role as a dad came first.
“I had big opportunities to advance and to continue to grow in my career, and I’m not saying that that wasn’t important… but at the same time I had kids because I wanted to be a dad.” That meant being present even when he was on the road, which wouldn’t have been possible without Alison. “My wife, who kind of ran the home, was with me traveling and doing whatever I did, very good at communicating and just being on the same page on what’s going on with the house.”
Herbstreit wasn’t just an observer in his kids’ lives—he was actively involved, no matter where he was. “Knowing that Jake had a science test on a Wednesday, she would communicate that with me. In the offseason, I’m in the mix, you know; I’m right in the front row,” he explained. Whether it was school, sports, or anything in between, Herbstreit made sure his boys knew he was paying attention.
2024 was another wild college football ride for most of us, but for Kirk Herbstreit, it was a whole lot of different game. Forget the touchdowns and rivalries—for him, it was all about showing some serious grit, love, and sticking by his family no matter what. He navigated the highs and lows with the same poise he brings to the broadcast booth, but this wasn’t about sports. It was about being a husband, a father, and a man doing everything he could to hold his family together.
The spotlight will always be there. The cameras, the analysis, the excitement of college football Saturdays—it’s all part of his world. But when it comes down to it, Herbstreit’s biggest victories aren’t measured in wins and losses.
When former ESPN pal faced a similar mishap Kirk Herbstreit rallied around him
Former Georgia Bulldogs legend and longtime ESPN analyst David Pollack delivered some gut-wrenching news on March 15, sharing that his wife, Lindsey, is battling brain cancer and has to undergo surgery at Duke. Pollack, known for his passion on the field and in the studio, took to social media to ask for prayers.
“If you are the praying type, please lift up my wife Lindsey. She has brain cancer and surgery is Wednesday at Duke. So thankful to serve a loving God that meets us in our struggles!” Pollack wrote. The post quickly gained traction, with an outpouring of love and support from fans, friends, and fellow analysts. Among them was Kirk Herbstreit, who worked alongside Pollack on ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ for over a decade. Herbstreit, who has dealt with his own family’s battle with cancer, took to X to share his support.
“Prayers for Lindsey and the entire Pollack family,” Herbstreit tweeted.
The college football community is tight-knit, and in tough moments like this, it shows. Everyone is pulling for the Pollack family, hoping for strength and healing.
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