'It's exciting': Duke AD Nina King on how Blue Devils are prepping for College GameDay

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- When ESPN announced that College GameDay would be making its first trip to Duke University, the Blue Devils were flying home after beating UConn.

"Thank goodness planes have Wi-Fi," said Nina King, Duke's Director of Athletics.

According to King, Duke was notified a couple of weeks ago that its name was on a short list to potentially host College GameDay.

"It's been a really interesting process," she said.

As soon as Duke's administration got wind of the news, it put plans into motion.

"Got to work right away," King said. "Lots of emails and getting checklists done. Once we landed, the pilot came on and notified the whole plane. It was exciting!"

READ MORE: No. 17 Duke turns focus to No. 11 Notre Dame

Bringing College GameDay to a campus with more than 17,000 students isn't an easy task.

King said ESPN and the athletic department have been in communication with the Provost on how to not disturb already planned events and activities happening on campus.

"In terms of minimizing impacts, noise, crowd control, etc. A lot, a lot of people on the operations front for this," she said.

The show set will be on Abele Quad, in front of the Duke Chapel.

With both No. 11 Notre Dame and College GameDay paying a visit to Durham, No. 17 Duke will be at the center of college football on Saturday.

"It's no mistake that Duke football is here, has arrived in this moment," King said. "I hope folks notice that."

College GameDay begins at 9 a.m. on ESPN.

Duke and Notre Dame will kick off inside Wallace Wade Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on ABC11.

It will be the eighth meeting between the two schools. Notre Dame leads the series, 5-2.

The last time the two teams played was in 2020 when the Irish emerged with a 27-13 victory.

Saturday will also mark the first time a nationally-ranked Duke team has played host to a nationally-ranked opponent since Nov. 5, 1994, when the No. 23 Blue Devils beat No. 13 Virginia, 28-25. More recently, a Duke team ranked 22nd played No. 20 Texas A&M on Dec. 31, 2013, in the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta. The Aggies won that one in a thriller, 52-48.

One more fun fact: Duke is one of only three Top 25 teams that have won each of its first four games by 21 or more points, alongside No. 2 Michigan and No. 7 Washington.