COLUMBUS, Ohio — It is rare for a sports broadcasting figure to retire on his own terms or to be able to accept the tributes or adulation of colleagues and fans.
Lee Corso gets to experience all of that Saturday.
He will make his final appearance as part of ESPN’s “College GameDay” crew before reigning national champion Ohio State, which is No. 3 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll, hosts top-ranked Texas.
Since announcing his retirement earlier this year, Corso has received his share of acclaim and celebratory send-offs. He was honored at the ESPY Awards in July, and he even received a standing ovation Thursday before boarding his flight in Orlando, Florida.
“It’s a gamut of different emotions. I’m trying to stay in the celebratory lane this weekend,” said ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who has sat next to Corso since 1996. “We don’t want to be emotional or sad when it’s his last show. We can be sad next week, but this weekend, we need to be celebrating him — everything he’s meant to us and to the sport.”
Corso, who turned 90 on Aug. 7, has been a part of “GameDay” since its start in 1987 and has made pregame shows entertaining under a simple philosophy: “Football is just the vehicle. It’s entertainment, sweetheart.”
“Almost everyone, no matter what they accomplish in our industry, sort of gets dragged out boots first. They don’t really get a chance to say farewell,” show host Rece Davis said Friday after a production meeting. “I think it’s a real blessing that we’re able to give Lee his flowers on a day when he’s feeling great, doing great and excited for a game.”
The 26th appearance in Columbus for “Gameday” also marks a full-circle moment for Corso. It was outside Ohio Stadium on Oct. 5, 1996, where Corso’s popular headgear prediction segment began.
He donned Brutus Buckeye’s head before Ohio State faced Penn State, and the rest is history.
Corso has worn 69 different schools’ mascot headgear and has dressed up as Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish leprechaun, the Stanford tree, and historic figures Benjamin Franklin and James Madison to signify which team he is picking to win. However, Brutus remains Corso’s first love; he has worn the Buckeye’s head 45 times.
The options for Corso’s final stop included No. 8 Alabama at Florida State on Saturday afternoon, but there were plenty of factors in favor of Texas-Ohio State, including redshirt junior Arch Manning beginning a season as the starting quarterback for the Longhorns for the first time.
“When we looked at the schedule, the obvious place was to try to go to Tallahassee, where he played (at Florida State), but this game is so big, the fact that it’s a noon game, it became a no-brainer to have it here,” Herbstreit said. “It is very kind of storybook. The fact that we started with this and and end it here in Columbus.”
Corso has a 66.5% winning rate on his headgear predictions (286-144), which is much better than his 73-85-6 mark in 15 years as a head coach at Louisville (1969-72), Indiana (1973-82) and Northern Illinois (1984).
His final headgear pick will be on the field at Ohio Stadium. Besides being shown on all of ESPN’s networks, Fox Sports may televise part of it — the noon matchup between the Big Ten’s Buckeyes and the Longhorns of the Southeastern Conference will be on Fox — and the final hour of both pregame shows will also take place in the stadium nicknamed “The Horseshoe.”
Chris Fallica and Tom Rinaldi, a pair of former “GameDay” crew members now with Fox Sports, are also expected to give their thoughts on Corso’s retirement.
“Now that his career, obviously coaching but now as a broadcaster, is ending, you look back on the impact that you made. And he certainly made a major impact on a lot of people,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “For him to be here for his last mascot game in his last year means a lot to all of us.”
When “GameDay” started, Corso was the analytical one known for hot takes, while Beano Cook, who was with the show for its first four seasons, was the funny one who made game predictions a production.
The show took place at ESPN’s studios in Bristol, Connecticut, until it went on the road for the first time in 1993, before Notre Dame hosted Florida State in a No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup in South Bend, Indiana. The show has been on the road regularly since 1995.
Chris Fowler was the host from 1990 through 2014 before Davis took over. In addition to Herbstreit, Desmond Howard has been with the show since 2006, Pat McAfee joined in 2022, and seven-time national championship coach Nick Saban came on board last year after his retirement at Alabama. Fowler, who will call Saturday night’s game between No. 9 LSU and fourth-ranked Clemson, will also be a part of the “GameDay” crew on Saturday.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said the beauty of Corso and “GameDay” is they allow fans to experience the flavor of being at a game through television.
“Coach Corso was able to bring the aspect of a coach and a very analytical approach to the games being played, but then the entertainment and doing the headgear at the end of every show,” Sarkesian said. “I know that was something we all used to look forward to. What was he going to do? Like that was going to determine who would win the game or not, but that was the beauty of the show, getting people excited about every Saturday for college football.”
Show producer Jim Gaiero thinks Corso may still have a surprise or two for Saturday — though no one would be shocked if “Coach” led on that he was picking with Ohio State and ended up going with Texas — and believes that even after he is no longer a part of Saturday mornings for college football fans, his impact will continue to be felt.
“His ability to bring entertainment to a preview show helped get away from seriousness. You can be outrageous and still do your job, but you can still have fun,” Gaiero said. “I think other shows have tried to do that, even political shows.”