2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Lee Corso, Coach, Commentator, FirebrandBy Ken Kerschbaumer
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Sometimes a Hall of Fame career is born out of a passion and drive for excellence, but, every once in a while, it's born out of much humbler reasons. Such is the case with Lee Corso, who, from 1987 to last August, was a key reason that ESPN's College GameDay was required viewing for any serious (and many non-serious) college-football fans.
I got into television because, basically, I was getting out of coaching, Corso recalls. I didn't have anything else to do.
Born in Cicero, IL, he had a knack for playing football and played quarterback at Miami Jackson High School in Miami, where his family moved when he was 10. He then attended FSU, where he played both baseball and football (Hollywood icon Burt Reynolds was a roommate).
Following college, Corso became a defensive backs coach at Navy in 1966 (and, in another small-world occurrence, coached Tom Jackson, who would also have a stellar career at ESPN). In 1969, he was named head coach at Louisville and then was at Indiana from 1973 to '82. It was during his formative years at Louisville and Indiana that he was introduced to television via his coaching shows.
The Lee Corso persona we know, unconventional and wacky at times, was born during his coaching shows at Louisville and then Indiana, says Chris Fowler, who hosted GameDay for 25 years. 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.
Corso and Kirk Herbstreit were on-air partners for 40 years. (Photo by Phil Ellsworth/ESPN Images)
By the way, when GameDay went to Indiana last year, the love and emotion that poured out from his players was truly moving, says Rece Davis, host of College GameDay since 2015. 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.
Corso's early years doing his coaching shows revealed that he had what it takes to be a compelling on-air talent. In 1987, he auditioned for College Football GameDay, and it was down to Corso and another candidate. I told him I know one thing: you aren't going to get the job because I will do it for nothing, Corso laughs.
Fowler recalls that Corso was a firebrand during those early GameDay shows. He would not shy away from saying controversial things, strong opinions, and he could be a polarizing figure.
Corso sports the Ohio State University mascot head as Herbstreit looks on.(Photo: Phil Ellsworth/ESPN Images)
One example? On Nov. 13, 1993, College GameDay was on the road for the first time, visiting the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN. At that first game, Corso donned an FSU cap and said FSU would beat the Fighting Irish 31-30. Responding to the deluge of boos, he laughed, donned a Notre Dame hat, did the FSU chop, and predicted an Irish 31-30 victory.
That first road show quickly made clear that the combination of ESPN, College GameDay, and a college campus were a powerful and compelling mix. No one ever took a show like that on the road, says Corso, and that gave us something really different.
Three years later, he would take his predictions to new heights. In October 1996, the show was on the Ohio State University campus. Former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit had joined the show two months earlier. Herbstreit's wife was a former Ohio State cheerleader, and that gave Corso an idea.
Recalls Herbstreit, Lee called my wife, Allison, and asked, Can I borrow the [head of the Brutus mascot] for my pick?'
Adds Corso, I thought, if I put the head on during my pick, it would be funny.
The request was shot down, but Corso asked Herbstreit to persist, and, on Friday, the Athletic Director cleared the idea.
Fowler was vaguely aware that Corso had a stunt cooking for the end of the show. It was an ah-ha lightning-bolt moment in both the history of GameDay and in TV sports, he says of the moment Corso pulled the head from behind his desk and placed it over his head. In that segment, Corso went 286-144 in his 430 selections.
Corso as the Notre Dame leprechaun
In addition to wearing helmets, mascot heads, and other hats, he has dressed up as Notre Dame's Fighting Irish leprechaun, the Stanford tree, and historic figures James Madison and Benjamin Franklin. His affection for the Oregon Duck led to a ride on a motorcycle with the mascot. He once held a live baby alligator in his hands while picking Florida to win and took on pop star Katy Perry in picks from The Grove at the University of Mississippi.
Lee Corso has developed a special connection to generations of fans through his entertaining style and iconic headgear picks, said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro prior to Corso's retirement. 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 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 in a contemplative mood
ESPN has been exceptionally generous to me, especially these past few years, he says. They accommodated me and supported me, as did my colleagues in the early days of Col
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Lee Corso, Coach, Commentator, FirebrandBy Ken Kerschbaumer 
