MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — Former West Virginia kicker and punter Pat McAfee has become one of the biggest names in sports media, and his latest appearance alongside President Donald Trump is another example of just how far the former Mountaineer has come.
McAfee greeted Trump on the tarmac in Cleveland on Tuesday as the president arrived in Ohio for the final day of the inaugural Patriot Games. Video posted by a White House account showed McAfee welcoming Trump before the two smiled for photos and walked toward Marine One.
According to Front Office Sports, McAfee was invited to attend the event as a guest of Trump.
🚨THIS IS WILD🚨
Liberal sports fans are CRITICIZING ESPN star Pat McAfee after he greeted President Donald Trump on the tarmac at the Cleveland airport ahead of the Patriot Games.
Fans are angry that McAfee was smiling while greeting the President.
— MLFootball (@MLFootball) August 11, 2026
The Patriot Games are a new national high school athletic competition created as part of Freedom 250, an initiative celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States. The inaugural competition was held Aug. 9-11 at Spire Academy in Geneva, Ohio. Athletes ages 14-17 from across the country were selected to participate, with one male and one female athlete representing each state along with additional competitors from U.S. territories.
The competition is designed to test much more than ability in one particular sport. Athletes compete in challenges involving strength, endurance, agility, teamwork and perseverance. Events include a Presidential Fitness Test, military-inspired challenges, obstacle courses and team competitions such as kickball, dodgeball and tug of war. A total of $250,000 in scholarship money is being awarded to the male and female champions.
ESPN has also become involved with the event, streaming the Patriot Games on its app with additional television coverage of the competition scheduled this week.
McAfee talked about the Patriot Games during his show Tuesday and praised the idea of getting young people active and involved in athletics. He also expressed interest in potentially helping the event continue in the future.
President Trump is in attendance for the 2026 Patriot Games final in Ohio alongside Pat McAfee.
pic.twitter.com/SdnPYXInfz— Front Office Sports (@FOS) August 11, 2026
For Mountaineer fans, though, McAfee’s presence alongside the President of the United States is another reminder of just how big his platform has become.
McAfee played at West Virginia from 2005-08 and developed into one of the top specialists in college football. He handled punting, kickoffs, extra points and field goals for some of the most successful teams in WVU history and was later inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame.
After an eight-year NFL career with the Indianapolis Colts, McAfee turned his personality into a media career that has exploded over the past several years. The Pat McAfee Show is now part of ESPN’s daily lineup, and McAfee has become a major part of ESPN’s College GameDay.
Despite reaching that level nationally, McAfee has remained closely connected to West Virginia.
In 2024, McAfee announced a $1 million contribution to Country Roads Trust, WVU’s NIL collective, on behalf of the teammates he played with in Morgantown. West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker recently described McAfee as an “unapologetic champion for WVU” while discussing the enormous value his national platform brings to the university.
McAfee has also developed a relationship with Trump over the past year. He interviewed the president during an ESPN Veterans Day broadcast and later interacted with him at the College Football Playoff national championship game.
Tuesday’s meeting took that relationship another step further, with McAfee personally greeting the president upon his arrival in Ohio for the Patriot Games.
For someone who first became known nationally as the kicker and punter for the Mountaineers, McAfee’s rise has been pretty incredible to watch.
He’s now one of the most recognizable personalities at ESPN, one of WVU’s most prominent supporters and donors, and apparently someone who gets invited to hang out with the President of the United States.
Pat McAfee has come a long way since his days wearing No. 40 in Morgantown.
