In 1987, Lee Corso made his first appearance on ESPN’s college football pregame show, College GameDay—which had just launched.
Almost 40 years later, the 90-year-old headgear-wearing coach made his final GameDay appearance on Saturday in Columbus for Texas–Ohio State—as well as his 431st and final headgear pick. In front of a screaming crowd inside Ohio Stadium, broadcast on multiple networks, Corso donned the headgear of Brutus Buckeye. (His first pick in 1996 was also the Buckeyes.)
It’s the end of an era not just for ESPN and GameDay, but also for millions of viewers accustomed to the morning ritual that has dominated the airwaves for decades.
“Lee Corso has developed a special connection to generations of fans through his entertaining style and iconic headgear picks,” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said. “Lee is one of the most influential and beloved figures in the history of college football.”
For 28 years, Corso made a name as a college and professional football head coach. Between 1969 and 1985, he coached Louisville, Indiana, Northern Illinois, and the USFL’s Orlando Renegades.
In 1987, he joined the inaugural season of GameDay as a contributor and became a full-time analyst two years later. He was even on the desk for ESPN’s first campus show in 1993 in South Bend for Florida State–Notre Dame. He has visited more than 70 campuses since then.
Throughout the past few years, Corso’s appearances on GameDay have become less frequent—after all, the weekly traveling circus is a notoriously grueling job for anyone, no matter a person’s age. But he’s continued to appear for his most iconic bit: the headgear pick.
Of Corso’s other 430 headgear picks, ESPN says he has a 66.5% win percentage—though he had a perfect 11–0 season in 1999. That first pick on Oct 5, 1996, ESPN noted, was Ohio State—the team hosting his final appearance. (The GameDay team commemorated that pick with an 80-pound cake in the shape of the old Buckeye mascot head he wore 30 years ago.)
When asked whether he thought all those years ago that the headgear pick was eventually going to become iconic, Corso said, holding his yellow pencil: “I had no idea.”
Corso is known for more than just his picks, however. He’s earned the respect of coaches and players nationwide, developed a strong mentorship of fellow GameDay analyst Kirk Herbstreit—the recipient of his famous catchphrase, “Not so fast, my friend”—and has won nine Sports Emmys.
In the week leading up to Corso’s swan song, ESPN ran a one-hour special on his years on GameDay, interviewing everyone from Kirby Smart and Dabo Swinney to Drew Brees. The network has also rolled out multiple short videos, including one chronicling the history of Corso’s headgear bit.
Throughout the three-hour broadcast Saturday, the GameDay crew paid several tributes to Corso in front of an Ohio State crowd that showed him love of their own, with signs and Lee Corso fatheads. In the first hour, they played a montage of his many years on the show—including an appearance from his first season in 1987. And throughout the broadcast, they ran tributes from various coaches and players in college and the NFL.
Fox Sports, which was simultaneously running its rival Big Noon Kickoff show also in Columbus, televised Corso’s pick on their broadcast as a tribute. “We were happy to collaborate with Fox Sports on this tribute to Coach Corso,” ESPN president of content Burke Magnus wrote on X. “This is a truly special occasion that is about a lifetime of contributions to the sport of college football and transcends any business considerations.”
Before Corso hoisted the mascot head, ESPN ran yet another montage of his picks. Tens of thousands of fans watched him at Ohio Stadium.
“This is one of the easiest picks I’ve ever made,” Corso said. He listed all the reasons the Texas Longhorns should win the game—but he said he was going with his “first love.” He put on the headgear of Brutus Buckeye as ESPN’s Rece Davis bid him farewell.
It wasn’t just Corso’s last headgear pick. The GameDay crew confirmed that they would retire the tradition along with him.
