Comedian Shane Gillis played one season of Division I college football at little-known Elon University in North Carolina. On Wednesday, July 16, the former offensive tackle recruited by West Point (which he attended before quickly transferring out; Gillis is not really the Army type) will host the 2025 ESPYs, the ESPN awards show celebrating athletes that stuck it out a bit longer. It’s all good — Gillis is doing just fine for himself.
Gillis’ Netflix comedy Tires premiered its second season earlier this month; as of the latest available data from the streamer, the show is still hanging around in the top 10.
“I’m excited to be at The ESPYs this year,” Gillis said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “I like sports, so this should be a good time.”
They usually are.
The annual ESPY Awards celebrate the best in sports. The ESPYs are co-produced by ESPN and Full Day Productions; Connor Schell and Dave Chamberlin executive produce for Full Day.
Craig Lazarus, the executive producer of The ESPYs for ESPN (and an ESPN vp), was a bit more statement-y than Shane in his own statement to THR.
“Shane is not only one of the top comedians today but also a huge sports fan, which made him an easy choice to host The ESPYs,” Lazarus said. “We are thrilled to work with him to create an entertaining show celebrating this year’s best moments in sports and are excited to see what he’ll do on stage.”
In 2019, Gillis, a popular stand-up comic and podcaster, was famously hired and quickly fired from Saturday Night Live after some non-PC clips of a 2018 episode of Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast resurfaced; he’s since hosted SNL twice. Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast, which Gillis co-hosts with Matt McCusker, is the No. 1 Patreon podcast in the world.
The 2025 ESPYs Presented by Capital One, as they are officially titled, will air live from The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 16, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. The ESPYs will also be available to stream on-demand the next day on Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+.
