Frank Malloy and Phil Cox bring the newsroom to ESPN Unlimited for Mercer's Division I FCS match

The Division I Foreign Competition Series matchup between Mercer and Western Carolina takes place on Saturday, 10 October 2026, with UK viewers tuning in at 20:00. The home games for the Mercer side will be announced through the ESPN network, and this week's pairing of commentators is a particularly memorable one for those in the know.

The main commentator will be Frank Malloy, who has returned to his role as play-by-play announcer for the Mercer home games. Frank first took up that position in August 2017, and it remains somewhat unusual to hear him describe the experience as being filled with butterflies. He now also serves as a co-anchor of the 13WMAZ news programme, appearing across the 5, 6, 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts, and is host of a segment billed as "Football Friday Night." His partner on this occasion is Phil Cox, who is once again serving as co-commentator.

Who is watching and why

The pair have a long history together. Frank Malloy's career traces back to 1982, when he worked as Sports Director, before moving in the autumn of 1993 to anchor what is now known as Eyewitness News at 5 p.m. Today he continues to co-anchor those same newscasts as part of the 13WMAZ broadcast. Phil Cox, meanwhile, is familiar to viewers as the father of an American AFL star named Mason, and has been seen mic'd up and reacting to commentary on Australian football in the past.

They have already worked together across several recent matches, including Presbyterian at Mercer and Furman at Mercer earlier this month, and they bring the newsroom atmosphere to ESPN Unlimited once more for this matchup. For further details on the assigned roles and language listings, see the ICDb entry for this match.

Article generated: 10 October 2026, 20:06 GMT