Kirk Herbstreit revealed the personal reason his emotions overflowed during the broadcast of the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Herbstreit, 55, was seen wiping away tears after the Monday, January 20 game between his alma mater Ohio State and Notre Dame, which saw the Buckeyes defeat the Fighting Irish 34-23.
“I haven’t really talked about this publicly, but Ali, my wife, faced some stuff,” Herbsteit said on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, January 21. “It’s been a tough year for me behind the scenes. My wife got diagnosed with breast cancer.”
Kirk and Ali got married in June 1998 and the couple share four sons: twins Tye and Jake, 24, Zak, 22, and Chase, 18.
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In addition to his wife’s diagnosis, Herbstreit’s beloved golden retriever Ben died of cancer in November 2024.
“Ben dies, it was just a lot of emotion,” Herbstreit continued. “And when you’re doing what we do, you endure. You know, you do your job. And I think what happened — I couldn’t predict it, but when they won, I was so happy for [Ohio State head coach] Ryan Day and those players that I just talked about, because of what they faced and all the stuff behind the scenes. It was almost like, I don’t know, maybe a release of all that pent up stuff. It just got the best of me.”
Herbstreit’s son Zak was a senior tight end on the Ohio State roster. In June 2023, Zak spent five days in the hospital due to a heart condition. While Zak did not see any game action this season, he was a vital part of the team’s day-to-day activities.
“My son had heart failure two years ago,” Kirk told McAfee, 37. “They were talking about a heart replacement there for a while, and he had to medically retire. The gratitude I have for Ryan Day putting his arms around Zak and keeping him involved. You know, he’s almost like a [graduate assistant] with what he was doing.”
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Kirk added, “So there was that side of it, looking down and seeing him in his jersey after, you know, potentially facing replacing your heart to that.”
Ultimately, Kirk said his emotional on-air moment was “not something you think about or predict. It’s just like a perfect storm for me.”
After the National Championship, Kirk posted a candid moment via Instagram between him and Zak in the bowels of Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Love you Zak! Congratulations,” Kirk wrote alongside a picture of the father and son embracing. “What a special night!”
