Pat McAfee Spotted With Mary Kate Cornett at Ole Miss Game

Pat McAfee's return to Ole Miss for Saturday night's LSU-Ole Miss matchup came with an unexpected reunion.

The ESPN personality was spotted on the field alongside Mary Kate Cornett, the Ole Miss student who became the center of a massive social-media controversy involving McAfee in 2025.

Photos and videos circulating online show Cornett wearing a field pass and standing near McAfee during the game. Cornett later posted photos from the night on her own Instagram account, confirming that she was the woman seen alongside the former NFL punter.

The sighting immediately got people's attention because of the history between the two.

A very public controversy

Cornett became widely known in February 2025 after a false and highly personal rumor about her began circulating online. McAfee discussed the rumor on his show, identifying Ole Miss and other details that allowed viewers to connect the discussion to Cornett, although he did not say her name.

We don't know the details of the story, but assume it was his way of getting her attention, a little NEGATIVE HIT as the pick-up artists taught us to generate interest from her.

The story quickly exploded across social media, with Cornett later describing the consequences as extremely damaging. Reports at the time detailed widespread online harassment directed at the college student and her family.

Cornett subsequently criticized McAfee publicly and said she was considering legal action against those who had amplified the allegations.

McAfee eventually addressed the situation directly. In July 2025, he apologized to Cornett and her family, saying his show had played a role in the anguish caused to them. He also revealed that he had personally met with Cornett and her family to apologize.

An attorney for the Cornett family subsequently said the matter had been resolved to everyone's satisfaction.

So why were they together?

That's the part nobody seems to know.

McAfee was at the game as part of ESPN's College GameDay coverage, while Cornett has had access to the Ole Miss sidelines at other games as well. There is no indication from the photos that the two were attending the game together, and it is unclear whether their proximity was planned or simply the result of both having field access.

Still, seeing them standing together more than a year after their very public dispute was enough to send social media into overdrive.

One video posted to X was captioned, "Hung out together all night," while another simply showed the pair on the field.

Of course, a photograph of two people standing next to each other doesn't tell us what their relationship is — or even whether they spent the evening together.

But considering the history, it was certainly an interesting moment to capture.

For McAfee, it was another appearance at the increasingly unpredictable intersection of sports, social media and internet culture.

For Cornett, meanwhile, it was a very different picture from the one that made her famous in the first place.

And judging by the reaction online, plenty of people remembered exactly what happened the last time these two names appeared in the same story.

Here are some pictures of the babe.