ESPN announced on Thursday that longtime analyst Lee Corso will retire from the college football pregame show College GameDay on Aug. 30. Corso, who will turn 90 on Aug. 7, has been part of the show for 38 years, joining in 1987.
Corso said in a statement released by ESPN: “My family and I will be forever indebted for the opportunity to be part of ESPN and College GameDay for nearly 40 years. I have a treasure of many friends, fond memories and some unusual experiences to take with me into retirement. ESPN has been exceptionally generous to me, especially these past few years. 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. And lest I forget, the fans … truly a blessing to share this with them. ESPN gave me this wonderful opportunity and provided me the support to ensure success. I am genuinely grateful.”
ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said: “Lee Corso has developed a special connection to generations of fans through his entertaining style and iconic headgear picks. 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.”
Yahoo Sports reports that Corso – the former Louisville, Indiana and Northern Illinois coach – has been a part of “GameDay” ever since the show started, traveling to different campuses in 1993. Corso is widely known for his headgear picks and “not so fast, my friend” retort when he disagreed with someone on the panel.
Corso has dealt with health issues in recent years after he suffered a stroke in 2009. He has held a reduced role on the show after the stroke caused him to have issues with his speech. He has also missed various shows in recent years due to other ailments. ESPN’s location for Corso’s final show — an edition that will be a tribute to his career — is still to be determined, and additional programming to celebrate Corso is planned in the days leading up to that weekend.
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