On Monday, South Carolina native and Wofford College graduate Craig Melvin will spend his first day as co-host on the Today show.

On Friday’s show, longtime host Hoda Kotb passed the baton to Melvin. Melvin will replace Kotb, who retired after 17 years with the program.

“Craig, I’m so happy for you,” Kotb said while holding Melvin’s hand. “You deserve this. This is yours. And on Monday at 7 a.m. I will be sleeping soundly.”

Kotb’s comments sparked laughter around the table and she continued to praise her successor.

“But you’ll be amazing. You will bring it home. Craig, you’re going to be so good.”

Melvin was named co-host on November 14th.

“I am beyond excited and grateful,” Craig said after the announcement. “I have just enjoyed a life full of blessings, and this is the latest in a long line of blessings.”

Savannah Guthrie announced the news on the “Today” show. “We are so excited about the news in our ‘Today’ family, and this is the person sitting right next to me,” Guthrie said. “Our dear friend and talented, wonderful, hardworking and most worthy: Craig Melvin is the new host of the Today show.”

The Today show airs from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. EST on NBC.

Wofford College graduates invited

Wofford College graduates were invited to New York City to celebrate Melvin’s first day as co-host of Today.

In an email and Facebook post, they wrote, “Join us at Rockefeller Plaza at 6:15 a.m. to join the live broadcast!”

The email asked alumni to wear their Wofford gowns in antique gold and black and to bring congratulatory posters.

“The more Craig Melvin, Wofford and TODAY topics the better!” they wrote.

They also asked Wofford alumni to meet at the Yale Club from 5:30 to 7 p.m

Who is Craig Melvin?

According to a USA TODAY article, Melvin has worked at NBC and MSNBC since 2011, as an MSNBC Live anchor until 2022, and as an NBC News correspondent since 2012. The Emmy-winning journalist is also a “Dateline” host and has been with “Today” since 2018.

He has been married to sports anchor and reporter Lindsay Czarniak since 2011 and they have two children together, Sybil and Delano, according to the USA TODAY article.

What connections does Craig Melvin have to Wofford, South Carolina?

Melvin is a native of Columbia and a graduate of Columbia High School. He began his broadcasting career in high school, working for WIS-TV in Columbia.

He is a 2001 graduate of Wofford College, where he majored in government.

Story will be updated after broadcast.

Jose Franco is a content coach for the Greenville News, Spartanburg Herald-Journal and Anderson Independent-Mail.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Craig Melvin debuts as Today co-anchor on NBC, Wofford alumni invited