Iconic ESPN broadcaster Lee Corso to retire from ‘College Gameday’
CNN It s the end of an era for early Saturday morning college football programs as iconic broadcaster Lee Corso is set to retire from ESPN s College Gameday following the show s Week broadcast on August Corso was a former head football coach at Louisville Indiana and Northern Illinois before joining the configuration in and has been a part of Gameday since the show started traveling campus-to-campus in My family and I will be forever indebted for the opportunity to be part of ESPN and College Gameday for nearly years the -year-old explained in a message issued by ESPN I have a treasure of a multitude of friends fond memories and various uncommon experiences to take with me into retirement In Corso started something that had a lasting impact not only on the show but on college football as a whole wearing oversized mascot headgear during live broadcasts Ahead of that season s Ohio State-Penn State competition Corso put on the Buckeyes mascot Brutus headgear and the rest was history Since then Corso has dressed up as Notre Dame s Fighting Irish Leprechaun the Stanford Tree and even rode a motorcycle with the Oregon Duck among countless others that brought smiles to not only the faces of fans but also his colleagues Corso would don the comically large headpiece while making encounter predictions holding a Ticonderoga No pencil in hand and uttering his famous catchphrase Not so fast my friend This famed tradition has been a staple on ESPN s college football coverage for almost four decades Corso has made mascot headgear selections all-time compiling a - record He has thrown on Brutus head the largest part at times with Alabama s Big Al s head coming in second with picks 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 incredible years explained Chris Fowler who hosted College GameDay and worked side-by-side with Corso from - His courage and resilience have inspired millions Through his groundbreaking work on College GameDay Lee has been an indelible force in the rise of college football s popularity He s a born entertainer and singular television talent But at his heart he ll invariably be a coach with an abiding love and respect for the championship and the people who play it The location for the final show has yet to be disclosed but Week has marquee matchups including Texas at Ohio State and Alabama traveling to Corso s alma mater Florida State ESPN has been exceptionally generous to me especially these past inadequate years Corso added in Thursday s report 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 Herbstreit has sat alongside Corso since and noted in ESPN s comment 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 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 who will turn ahead of the final show played college football with the Seminoles in the s and held the school record for interceptions for two decades He 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 Corso finished off his comment with a nod to the viewers who tuned in to watch him all these years And lest I forget the fans truly a blessing to share this with them ESPN gave me this wonderful opportunity and provided me the encouragement to ensure success I am genuinely grateful
