Draft:The Solid Verbal

The Solid Verbal is a sports podcast hosted by Ty Hildenbrandt and Dan Rubenstein, which provides college football news, commentary and analysis. The podcast has run year-round since its creation in 2008, posting at least two episodes per week covering the sport.. .

History
Hildenbrandt and Rubenstein, two freelancers covering college football for Sports Illustrated's website (SI.com), began communicating after Rubenstein published a video covering the tailgating scene in State College, Pennsylvania outside the Notre Dame vs. Penn State game on September 8, 2007. Hildenbrandt — a Penn State grad — and Rubenstein — an Oregon alum — discovered a shared affinity for new media and brainstormed for nearly a year on a pilot podcast series about college football. After initial conversations about naming the podcast "The Redshirts," "The Walk-On Program," or "The Booster Club," Hildenbrandt and Rubenstein settled on "The Solid Verbal," a direct reference to the act of college football recruits verbally committing to a school. The Solid Verbal launched its first episode on August 27, 2008. The duo recorded remotely and did not meet in person until 2010.

In September 2011, The Solid Verbal became part of The Grantland Network Podcast, a curated feed of podcasts published by Grantland.com, an affiliate of ESPN. Also featured on the network were Bill Simmons, The Basketball Jones and Men in Blazers, among others.

In March 2012, The Solid Verbal featured at SXSW for the first time, detailing the story of its founding and initial growth. Later in 2012, the show partnered with SB Nation to create a weekly video series aired live on YouTube.

In March 2015, the show featured for a second time at SXSW, along with frequent guests and college football personalities Spencer Hall and Bruce Feldman. Later that year, the podcast announced a new partnership with SB Nation.

In January 2016, Hildenbrandt and Rubenstein performed their first live podcast in Phoenix, Arizona, the site of the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship Game. The Solid Verbal has since performed ten other live shows across the United States in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles.

In 2019, The Solid Verbal was featured as part of Wondery's portfolio of podcasts.

In 2020, The Solid Verbal signed on with WME and entered into an "integrated partnership" with Learfield IMG College.

In 2022, The Solid Verbal teamed up with Spotify to develop "College Football Thursdays," a live audio experience on Spotify Live

Format
Each episode of The Solid Verbal runs approximately 60 minutes with Hildenbrandt and Rubenstein as the primary hosts. The show frequently invites popular college football coaches, personalities and fans onto the program to cover pressing issues within the sport and the culture surrounding it. Notable guests have included Matthew McConaughey, Bert Kreischer , Dan Carlin , Chris Fowler , Mike Leach, Jimbo Fisher , and others.

The Solid Verbal is noted for its informal, irreverent approach to college football coverage, sometimes in creative settings. In 2014, the podcast recorded a three-hour episode while in a hot tub. In 2023, Hildenbrandt and Rubenstein rented a van and recorded during a roaming taco tour around Los Angeles, featuring Mike Golic Jr., Mina Kimes and others