Lee Corso is hanging up the headgear after 38 years on ESPN's College GameDay
Lee Corso is hanging up the headgear after 38 years on ESPN's College GameDay
Lee Corso will put on the headgear one last time to open the 2025 College Football Season before he officially calls it a career.
The 89-year-old former coach who became a beloved analyst on ESPN's flagship college football show, College GameDay, is retiring. It's hard to say many fans didn't see this day coming. In recent years, Corso's absences from the set became more and more frequent, though he still made time for his iconic headgear picks whenever he was able to make it on air.
Even as recent as last season he was dressing up like the Notre Dame Leprechaun while dancing (and nearly falling) on stage. It's going to be a tough transition for the show, which had become fiercely protective of Corso in recent years — especially longtime co-host Kirk Herbstreit.
'My family and I will be forever indebted for the opportunity to be part of ESPN and College GameDay for nearly 40 years,' Corso said in a statement. 'I have a treasure of many friends, fond memories and some unusual experiences to take with me into retirement. ESPN has been exceptionally generous to me, especially these past few years. They accommodated me and supported me, as did my colleagues in the early days of College GameDay. Special thanks to Kirk Herbstreit for his friendship and encouragement. And lest I forget, the fans…truly a blessing to share this with them. ESPN gave me this wonderful opportunity and provided me the support to ensure success. I am genuinely grateful.'
The destination for Corso's final College GameDay broadcast on August 30 has not yet been announced. ESPN says it will spend the week before airing special coverage of Corso's career.
'Lee is one of the most influential and beloved figures in the history of college football," ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said. "Our ESPN team will celebrate his legendary career during his final College GameDay appearance this August.'
Regardless of which headgear Corso picks in his final appearance, he'll go out with a winning record. The coach's headgear picks have gone a tremendous 287-144, per GameDayCole.com.
While the College GameDay crew is certainly going to miss him, multiple generations of football fans will be right there with them. The news hit hard on Thursday morning.
Hopefully Corso's close friends Brutus Buckeye, the Oregon Duck and the Notre Dame Leprechaun can all make it out to GameDay in Week 1. It just wouldn't be a proper goodbye without them.
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