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In 1987, two years after what would be his final head coaching job, Lee Corso joined ESPN as a college football analyst.
Over the better part of the next 40 years, Corso became one of the singular figures in the world of college football, someone whose face and voice became synonymous with the sport he so dearly loved.
Corso helped ESPN’s “College GameDay” become a juggernaut, a college football pregame show that doubled as a party that traveled to the biggest games in the sport. His jovial personality, sharp analysis and famous one-liners — like “Not so fast, my friend” — made him both a voice of authority and a beloved figure, someone whose infectious charisma helped make so many fall in love with college football.
REQUIRED READING: Lee Corso exiting ESPN 'College GameDay' stage and taking soul of college football with him
On Thursday, ESPN announced that the 89-year-old Corso will retire in August, marking the end of one of the most decorated runs for an analyst in the history of sports television.
In the wake of the announcement, fans and viewers have paid tribute to Corso. Many have praised him for his work on “GameDay,” a discussion that’s impossible to have without fondly looking back on some of his more outlandish and hysterical moments on the show.
With Corso nearing the end of his illustrious tenure on “GameDay,” here’s a look back at some of his more memorable moments over the years:
REQUIRED READING: Who is Lee Corso? How a middling college coach became a beloved broadcaster
Nothing came to define Corso’s role on “GameDay” more than his headgear picks, when he would wrap up the game prediction segment by putting on the mascot head of whichever team he believed would win the game at the site where the show was airing from.
Believe it or not, it wasn’t always a part of the “GameDay” ritual.
Corso first donned a mascot head when making a pick on Oct. 5, 1996, when “GameDay” was broadcasting from Columbus, Ohio for No. 3 Ohio State’s game against No. 4 Penn State. While predicting a Buckeyes victory, Corso reached under the “GameDay” desk and pulled out the head of Brutus Buckeye, the Ohio State mascot, and put it on his head, much to the delight of the scarlet-and-gray-clad faithful outside Ohio Stadium.
Corso was right, too: The Buckeyes rolled past the Nittany Lions 38-7 and from there, a tradition was born. Corso has gone 286-144 on 430 career headgear picks, with the chance to add one more win to his collection.
Corso’s headgear routine came with a vulgar and hilarious wrinkle in 2011.
While on site for No. 10 Houston’s game against SMU, Corso initially praised the Mustangs, asking how you could pick against a school with a patriotic red, white and blue color scheme while holding up an SMU megaphone to his mouth. He quickly reversed course, though, tossing the megaphone and famously saying, “Aw, (expletive) it” before putting on the head of Houston’s cougar mascot, Shasta.
(Warning: The clip includes profanity).
The moment was just as great for the reactions of “GameDay” co-hosts Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit — as well as celebrity guest-picker Carl Lewis — who looked on with a visible sense of shock, amusement and joy.
“I have seen that 100 times and I laugh out loud every time,” Fowler said of it 10 years later.
Though his headgear picks created an indelible bond between Corso and many of college football’s most famous mascots, there was at least one for which he had some choice words.
While in Athens, Georgia in 2008 for No. 3 Georgia’s game against No. 10 Alabama, Corso took exception with Uga, Georgia’s live bulldog mascot, who was perched atop the “GameDay” desk.
“I would have gone to Georgia if I didn’t go to Florida State, but that dog is ugly!” Corso said before putting on the headgear for Big Al, Alabama’s elephant mascot. Fifteen years later, ESPN had Corso film an apology video, but as he did so, the bulldog he was holding on a leash — who wasn’t Uga — started to poop right near Corso’s foot.
Though she’s recently more well known now for brief trips into space, Katy Perry was one of the biggest pop stars in the world in 2014, a veritable hit machine who made a somewhat surprising turn as a “GameDay” guest-picker ahead of an Ole Miss-Alabama game that year.
When it came time for picks, Perry went with the host Rebels. Shortly after that, Corso set up his prediction by asking Perry if she liked music — given her line of work, it was safely a “yes” — before having Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” play over the loudspeakers. Corso then put on the Big Al head and playfully waved its trunk at Perry. After jokingly throwing corn dogs at the “GameDay” camera, Perry then turned her attention back to Corso and ripped off the mascot headgear, much to his amusement.
In Nov. 2002, “GameDay” made its first — and, so far, only trip — to the University of Pennsylvania, which marked the show’s first-ever venture to an Ivy League or FCS school.
While the school’s nickname, the Quakers, doesn’t lend itself well to a headgear pick, Corso took the next logical step, dressing up as the university’s founder, Benjamin Franklin, down to the bald cap and signature spectacles.
“I founded Penn!” Corso said triumphantly while picking Penn to beat Harvard. “This is my school!”
Long before he was a broadcaster, Corso was a coach. He was perhaps most famous for a 10-year run as Indiana’s head coach, where the historically hapless Hoosiers struggled for much of his tenure, going 41-68-2.
In 2024, with Indiana off to an undefeated start, “GameDay” made its first-ever visit to Bloomington. There, Corso got the chance to wear the crimson sweater he was often photographed in during his time with the Hoosiers and, when picking Indiana to beat Washington, he put on a hat from his 1979 team’s win against BYU in the Holiday Bowl.
The Hoosiers beat Washington 31-17 to improve to 8-0 in a season that would culminate with a College Football Playoff berth.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lee Corso's 6 most memorable moments on ESPN's 'College GameDay'
Continue reading...
Over the better part of the next 40 years, Corso became one of the singular figures in the world of college football, someone whose face and voice became synonymous with the sport he so dearly loved.
Corso helped ESPN’s “College GameDay” become a juggernaut, a college football pregame show that doubled as a party that traveled to the biggest games in the sport. His jovial personality, sharp analysis and famous one-liners — like “Not so fast, my friend” — made him both a voice of authority and a beloved figure, someone whose infectious charisma helped make so many fall in love with college football.
REQUIRED READING: Lee Corso exiting ESPN 'College GameDay' stage and taking soul of college football with him
On Thursday, ESPN announced that the 89-year-old Corso will retire in August, marking the end of one of the most decorated runs for an analyst in the history of sports television.
In the wake of the announcement, fans and viewers have paid tribute to Corso. Many have praised him for his work on “GameDay,” a discussion that’s impossible to have without fondly looking back on some of his more outlandish and hysterical moments on the show.
With Corso nearing the end of his illustrious tenure on “GameDay,” here’s a look back at some of his more memorable moments over the years:
Lee Corso most memorable moments on ‘College GameDay’
REQUIRED READING: Who is Lee Corso? How a middling college coach became a beloved broadcaster
The first headgear pick
Nothing came to define Corso’s role on “GameDay” more than his headgear picks, when he would wrap up the game prediction segment by putting on the mascot head of whichever team he believed would win the game at the site where the show was airing from.
Believe it or not, it wasn’t always a part of the “GameDay” ritual.
Corso first donned a mascot head when making a pick on Oct. 5, 1996, when “GameDay” was broadcasting from Columbus, Ohio for No. 3 Ohio State’s game against No. 4 Penn State. While predicting a Buckeyes victory, Corso reached under the “GameDay” desk and pulled out the head of Brutus Buckeye, the Ohio State mascot, and put it on his head, much to the delight of the scarlet-and-gray-clad faithful outside Ohio Stadium.
Corso was right, too: The Buckeyes rolled past the Nittany Lions 38-7 and from there, a tradition was born. Corso has gone 286-144 on 430 career headgear picks, with the chance to add one more win to his collection.
Dropping an F-bomb at Houston
Corso’s headgear routine came with a vulgar and hilarious wrinkle in 2011.
While on site for No. 10 Houston’s game against SMU, Corso initially praised the Mustangs, asking how you could pick against a school with a patriotic red, white and blue color scheme while holding up an SMU megaphone to his mouth. He quickly reversed course, though, tossing the megaphone and famously saying, “Aw, (expletive) it” before putting on the head of Houston’s cougar mascot, Shasta.
(Warning: The clip includes profanity).
The moment was just as great for the reactions of “GameDay” co-hosts Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit — as well as celebrity guest-picker Carl Lewis — who looked on with a visible sense of shock, amusement and joy.
“I have seen that 100 times and I laugh out loud every time,” Fowler said of it 10 years later.
‘That dog is ugly’
Though his headgear picks created an indelible bond between Corso and many of college football’s most famous mascots, there was at least one for which he had some choice words.
While in Athens, Georgia in 2008 for No. 3 Georgia’s game against No. 10 Alabama, Corso took exception with Uga, Georgia’s live bulldog mascot, who was perched atop the “GameDay” desk.
“I would have gone to Georgia if I didn’t go to Florida State, but that dog is ugly!” Corso said before putting on the headgear for Big Al, Alabama’s elephant mascot. Fifteen years later, ESPN had Corso film an apology video, but as he did so, the bulldog he was holding on a leash — who wasn’t Uga — started to poop right near Corso’s foot.
Going back-and-forth with Katy Perry
Though she’s recently more well known now for brief trips into space, Katy Perry was one of the biggest pop stars in the world in 2014, a veritable hit machine who made a somewhat surprising turn as a “GameDay” guest-picker ahead of an Ole Miss-Alabama game that year.
When it came time for picks, Perry went with the host Rebels. Shortly after that, Corso set up his prediction by asking Perry if she liked music — given her line of work, it was safely a “yes” — before having Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” play over the loudspeakers. Corso then put on the Big Al head and playfully waved its trunk at Perry. After jokingly throwing corn dogs at the “GameDay” camera, Perry then turned her attention back to Corso and ripped off the mascot headgear, much to his amusement.
Lee Corso, founding father
In Nov. 2002, “GameDay” made its first — and, so far, only trip — to the University of Pennsylvania, which marked the show’s first-ever venture to an Ivy League or FCS school.
While the school’s nickname, the Quakers, doesn’t lend itself well to a headgear pick, Corso took the next logical step, dressing up as the university’s founder, Benjamin Franklin, down to the bald cap and signature spectacles.
“I founded Penn!” Corso said triumphantly while picking Penn to beat Harvard. “This is my school!”
A Hoosier homecoming
Long before he was a broadcaster, Corso was a coach. He was perhaps most famous for a 10-year run as Indiana’s head coach, where the historically hapless Hoosiers struggled for much of his tenure, going 41-68-2.
In 2024, with Indiana off to an undefeated start, “GameDay” made its first-ever visit to Bloomington. There, Corso got the chance to wear the crimson sweater he was often photographed in during his time with the Hoosiers and, when picking Indiana to beat Washington, he put on a hat from his 1979 team’s win against BYU in the Holiday Bowl.
The Hoosiers beat Washington 31-17 to improve to 8-0 in a season that would culminate with a College Football Playoff berth.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lee Corso's 6 most memorable moments on ESPN's 'College GameDay'
Continue reading...
