Lee Corso retiring from ‘College GameDay’ after 38 years

ESPN’s Lee Corso will retire from “College GameDay” in August, “ending a career with the show that began in 1987,” according to ESPN.com. Corso’s final broadcast will be Aug. 30, with ESPN saying “additional programming to celebrate” the legendary analyst is “planned in the days leading up to that weekend.” Corso, who turns 90 on Aug. 7, is “widely known for his headgear picks and ‘not so fast, my friend’ retort when he disagreed with someone on the panel.” The headgear segment, which started in October 1995 in a game at Ohio State, has seen Corso go 286-144 in his 430 selections. Corso “held a No. 2 pencil for most segments;” in the offseason, he was the Dir of Business Development for Dixon Ticonderoga, which makes the famous yellow pencils. Corso suffered a stroke in 2009, which “left him unable to speak for a time,” but he “returned to the show later that year.” His travel “has been limited in recent years,” but Corso was at the site of last year’s national title game in Atlanta. Corso said, “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.” The “College GameDay” program has won nine Emmys during Corso’s tenure, and the show is nominated this year for Most Outstanding Studio Show -- Weekly (ESPN.com, 4/17).

DIRECTLY FROM HIS CO-HOSTS: ESPN’s Rece Davis, who has hosted “College GameDay” since 2015, posted a video on X in which he said, “Lee Corso is not only the cornerstone of ‘College GameDay,’ he was really a trailblazer for the way the sport was covered. It was OK to laugh, it was OK to poke a little fun, it was OK to show your personality. What Lee did really set the trend for the generations that have followed and continue to follow in covering college football.” More Davis: “His love for the sport runs deep. His impact on the game and television’s coverage of the game ... is immeasurable. He’s part of the DNA of ‘College GameDay.” He added, “It’s really easy to say the show won’t be the same without him” (X, 4/17). ESPN’s Chris Fowler, who preceded Davis as ‘GameDay’ host, also posted a video to X and said, “It’s been an unprecedented, incredible run. What Lee has done for the sport of college football -- grown its popularity just by his unique personality and his work on ‘GameDay’ since ’87. Sharing the set with him for a quarter-century, it’s been a privilege, it’s been a joy” (X, 4/17).

SOCIAL REACTION: Here’s a sampling of the social media reaction to Corso’s impending retirement:

• NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico: “It’s been an honor to call Coach a friend for nearly 35 years. Sitting on the set with him and traveling the country to call Thursday Night games provided lessons and life long memories. As Coach likes to say Life is Good!! It’s been better with him as a part of it. We will all be tuned in for the final headgear selection! Congrats Coach!!!”
• ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt: “Icon. Legend. Star. No doubt. But read about how his teammates on Gameday speak about the man. Getting a glimpse of it during a season I spent some time with them, I can tell you - his kindness & warmth are iconic and legendary. Yo, sweetheart, you’re loved beyond measure.”
• Sports broadcaster Ryan Brown: “I’ve always loved Lee Corso because the whole reason I’m sitting there watching that (headgear) segment is I love college football … and Lee Corso loves it every bit as much as I do, if not more. That’s why I love Lee Corso” (“The Next Round,” 4/17).
• Betting analyst Pamela Maldonado: “Lee Corso is why I fell in love with college football. Part of my childhood. Part of my Saturdays. The energy. The headgear. The heart. He made it fun. He made it magic.
• ESPN’s Pete Thamel: “Honored to work with Lee Corso. Just an incredible spirit and kindness, that he shared with all.”
• ESPN’s Kevin Negandhi: “His legacy will forever be linked w the sport. Lee Corso is an icon. The best of the best.”
• CNN’s Kaitlin Collins: “End of an era. Lee Corso is a legend.”
• The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel: “An absolute legend. Should be quite a sendoff.”
• The Denver Post’s Troy Renck: “Had a hell of a run. But in fairness to him, it is time.”