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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
From headgear picks to college football stalwart: The legendary career
of Lee Corso comes to an end
By Ben Morse, CNN
Updated:
8:11 AM EDT, Sat August 30, 2025
Source: CNN
For one final time, Lee Corso will don the head of a mascot and utter
his famous catchphrase: “Not so fast, my friend.”
Saturday’s ESPN broadcast of defending national champion Ohio State
hosting will signal the end of the era as Corso steps away after a
legendary stint in college football.
First as a player, then a coach and finally a broadcaster, the
now-90-year-old has been a mainstay in the collegiate ranks for more
than 75 years and has had an immeasurable impact.
Known for his larger-than-life personality – and the even bigger
mascot heads he’s worn – Corso retires as one of the pioneers of
football television.
“My goal on TV was to bring a smile to everybody’s face. I hope I
have done that,” Corso said on stage at the Dolby Theatre in Los
Angeles when he was honored at the ESPYs in July.
An impact on every facet of the game
Corso’s football career began in the 1950s when he took the field for
the Florida State Seminoles, where he played as both a quarterback and
cornerback. As a CB, he held the school record for interceptions for
two decades.
After graduating, he turned his attention to coaching. Over a 28-year
career, he coached at Louisville, Indiana, Navy and Northern Illinois,
as well as a brief stint as the head coach of the Orlando Renegades in
the United States Football League (USFL).
His achievements across multiple programs have led to his induction
into multiple athletic Halls of Fame, including at Florida State,
Louisville and Indiana, in addition to the state of Florida Sports Hall
of Fame and the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame.
But it was only when the USFL fell apart in the mid-1980s that Corso
turned his attention to television.
He was hired to be part of ESPN’s “College GameDay” program as an
analyst in 1987 and, for 38 seasons, has remained an anchor of the
team.
In 1996, 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 game, Corso put on
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 many others that brought smiles to not only the
faces of fans but also his colleagues.
Corso would don the comically large headpieces while making game
predictions, holding a Ticonderoga No. 2 pencil in hand and uttering
his famous catchphrase. This famed tradition has been a staple on
ESPN’s college football coverage for almost four decades.
Corso has made 430 mascot headgear selections all-time, compiling a
286-144 record. He has thrown on Brutus’ head the most at 45 times
with Alabama mascot Big Al’s head coming in second with 38 picks.
He has worn the headgear of 69 different teams and, as a former
assistant coach at Navy, has never picked against the Midshipmen. He
went on a magical streak of predictions in 1999, going 11-0 with his
headgear picks, the most wins without a loss in a single season since
he began the tradition.
“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
when his . “I have a treasure of many friends, fond memories and some
unusual experiences to take with me into retirement.”
In 2009, Corso which left him unable to speak for a while but he
eventually made a return to ESPN’s coverage.
A year later, he was honored by the National College Football Awards
Association with the Contributions to College Football Award in
recognition of his lifetime of achievement and integrity in the sport.
Ahead of his final game, Corso was by Southwest Airlines as he waited
to board his flight to Columbus, with the staff and waiting customers
all giving him a standing ovation.
“With the popularity and cultural phenomenon that ‘GameDay’
became, there’s no one more responsible for that than Lee Corso. He
changed the way the game was covered with the irreverence, the humor,
the lack of a filter, all of those things that sort of set the tone and
the standard,” “GameDay” host Rece Davis said of Corso’s impact
on ESPN’s coverage.
Corso steps away as a seemingly ever-present figure on college football
coverage and one whose impact will be felt for the next generation of
broadcasters and fans.
Will someone else put on the mascot headgear to continue and honor
Corso’s tradition? Or will the segment also be retired alongside
Corso? One thing is for sure though: The future of college football
broadcasting will most certainly look very different without him on the
panel.
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