Legendary ESPN Broadcaster Lee Corso to Work His Final College GameDay Show on August 30 – Week 1 of the 2025 College Football Season

• After entertaining fans for 38 seasons on college football Saturdays, Corso will make his final headgear pick

• College GameDay’s Week 1 destination for 2025 college football season to be announced later this spring

Lee Corso, the legendary ESPN broadcaster and former coach who has entertained fans for 38 college football seasons, will make his final headgear pick on College GameDay Built by The Home Depot on Saturday, Aug. 30 – Week 1 of the 2025 college football season – at a destination to be announced later this spring. ESPN will also present special programming celebrating Corso in the days leading up to Aug. 30 (date/time TBD).

Corso, who turns 90 in August, has been a part of college football’s premier pregame show since it debuted in 1987. His very first headgear pick was October 5, 1996, when he donned Ohio State’s Brutus Buckeye mascot head in Columbus, Ohio. Corso’s weekly end-of-show pick during GameDay’s Saturday Selections has become a college football tradition, surprising and delighting fans for nearly three decades. Entering his final broadcast in August, Corso has made 430 headgear picks all-time, including the Buckeyes a record 45 times.

“My family and I will be forever indebted for the opportunity to be part of ESPN and College GameDay for nearly 40 years,” said Corso. “I have a treasure of many friends, fond memories and some unusual experiences to take with me into retirement.”

Corso added: “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.”

“Lee Corso has developed a special connection to generations of fans through his entertaining style and iconic headgear picks,” said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro. “Lee is one of the most influential and beloved figures in the history of college football and our ESPN team will celebrate his legendary career during his final College GameDay appearance this August.”

Corso joined ESPN in 1987, following a 28-year coaching career at the college and professional levels – including 17 seasons as a head coach at Louisville (1969-72), Indiana (1973-82), Northern Illinois (1984) and with the USFL’s Orlando Renegades (1985). He is the only original College GameDay personality still with the show. (He was a contributor in 1987-88 and joined as an analyst in 1989). During his tenure, College GameDay has earned nine Sports Emmy Awards in the Most Outstanding Studio Show – Weekly category and is nominated again this year.

Alongside host Chris Fowler and Craig James, Corso was part of College GameDay’s first-ever road show on November 13, 1993 as No. 2 Notre Dame hosted No. 1 Florida State in the ‘Game of the Century’. In front of a packed crowd inside the Joyce Center in South Bend, Ind., Corso – a Florida State alum and a former star defensive back for the Seminoles in the 1950s, knew exactly how to stir the crowd, placing an FSU cap on his head as he offered his game prediction. 

“It has been among the greatest joys and privileges of my life to work with, laugh with, and learn from Lee Corso for more than 35 incredible years,” said Fowler, who hosted College GameDay and worked side-by-side with Corso from 1990-2014. “His courage and resilience have inspired millions. Through his groundbreaking work on College GameDay, Lee has been an indelible force in the growth of college football’s popularity. He’s a born entertainer and singular television talent. But at his heart he’ll always be a coach, with an abiding love and respect for the game and the people who play it.”  

During Corso’s coast-to-coast travels with College GameDay, he has entertained crowds on more than 70 campuses and other game sites and made headgear picks spanning 69 different teams. He coined the memorable catchphrase, “Not so fast, my friend!” while holding his signature Dixon Ticonderoga No. 2 pencil. The indelible moments he has authored are endless: he’s danced with the Fighting Irish’s leprechaun, ridden a motorcycle with the Oregon Duck, mounted a 17-foot fake elephant, sparred with pop star Katy Perry, wrestled with actors Bill Murray and Will Ferrell, dressed as James Madison, Ben Franklin, the Statue of Liberty and Elvis Presley, and so much more – even notoriously dropping an F-bomb on-air (whoops!).

While fans have been enthralled by Corso’s football knowledge and showmanship, they’ve also been moved by the special father-son type bond he shares with Herbstreit. Corso mentored the former Ohio State quarterback when he joined the show in 1996, and when they called Thursday Night college football games together with Mike Tirico from 1999-2006. Herbstreit has been Corso’s biggest supporter on-set and behind the scenes, especially as Corso has overcome a stroke and other health-related issues in recent years. 

“Coach Corso has had an iconic run in broadcasting, and we’re all lucky to have been around to witness it. He has taught me so much throughout our time together, and he’s been like a second father to me,” said Herbstreit, who has worked alongside Corso for 29 seasons on College GameDay. “It has been my absolute honor to have the best seat in the house to watch Coach put on that mascot head each week.”

Corso is a member of the athletic Halls of Fame at Florida State, Louisville and Indiana, in addition to the state of Florida Sports Hall of Fame and the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2006, he received the Florida State Alumni Association’s Gold Medal, the university’s highest alumni honor, and in 2010 the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) honored him with the Contributions to College Football Award in recognition of his lifetime of achievement and integrity in the sport. Last fall when GameDay traveled to Bloomington, Ind., the mayor proclaimed it “Coach Lee Corso Day” in his honor as friends, family members, former players and coaches returned to campus.

“Lee is the quintessential entertainer, but he was also a remarkable coach who established lifelong connections with his players,” said Rece Davis, host of College GameDay and a teammate of Corso’s since 2015. “When GameDay went to Indiana last season, the love and emotion that poured out from his players was truly moving. It was also unsurprising. Every week, Lee asks about our families. He asks for specifics. He celebrates success and moments, big and small, with all of us on the set. He’s relentless in his encouragement. That’s what a great coach, and friend, does. Lee has made it his life’s work to bring joy to others on the field and on television. He succeeded.”

When College GameDay kicks off Week 1 of the 2025 season on Aug. 30, the three-hour show (9 a.m. – noon ET, ESPN & ESPNU) will honor and celebrate Corso’s historic career in addition to previewing all the day’s big games. Show details will be announced in the coming months.

Additional details about College GameDay’s 2025 road shows, talent roster and how the show will approach its final segment each week once Corso retires will be announced closer to the start of the college football season.

Lee Corso on ESPN’s College GameDay – By the Numbers:

• 430 mascot headgear selections all-time

  • 286-144 record all-time (.665 win pct.)

• Corso has donned the headgear of 69 different teams all-time

• Most headgear selections by team:

  • Ohio State - 45

  • Alabama - 38

  • LSU - 25

  • Florida - 22

  • Oregon - 21

• Milestone headgear picks for Corso:

  • 1st: Oct. 5, 1996 - Ohio State (over Penn State) *

  • 100th: Sept. 17, 2005 - Florida State (over Boston College) *

  • 200th: Oct. 22, 2011 - Wisconsin (over Michigan State)

  • 300th: Oct. 7, 2017 - TCU (over West Virginia) *

  • 400th: Sept. 16, 2023 - Colorado (over Colorado State) *

    
    

    * Correct picks

• Fun Facts:

  • College GameDay has originated from the Army-Navy game nine times. A former Navy assistant coach (1966-68), Corso has never picked against the Midshipmen.

  • There are only three teams that Corso has picked multiple times and never lost: USC (17-0), Virginia Tech (4-0) and North Dakota State (3-0).

  • Corso went a perfect 11-0 on his headgear picks in 1999, his most wins without a loss in a single season since he began the tradition on the show.