The return of college football is right around the corner, and with its return comes great traditions. This article is about one that is coming to an end.
Whether it’s the planting of the spear in Tallahassee, dotting the “I” in Columbus, “Enter Sandman” in Blacksburg, a whiteout in Happy Valley, running down the hill in Clemson, or “Dixieland Delight” in Tuscaloosa, college football is full of wonderful traditions that have captivated students and fans alike for generations.
On August 30, we will see one of the game’s traditions come to an end. Lee Corso will do his final headgear pick on College GameDay. As fate would have it, he’ll end the tradition back where it all began, at Ohio State, for a showdown between the Buckeyes and the Texas Longhorns.
Lee Corso has been a part of the college football world in one form or another for over seven decades. Starting out during his playing days at Florida State from 1953 – 1957. From there, he would begin his coaching career. He would have several stops as an assistant coach before landing his first head coaching job at the University of Louisville. In his time at Louisville, he would lead the Cardinals to two Missouri Valley Conference Championships. His next stop would become his most well-known coaching stop at Indiana, where he would be the head coach from 1973-1982.
In 1987, ESPN launched its College GameDay program and hired Lee Corso as an analyst. Corso has been on College GameDay ever since. To date, Lee Corso has done his headgear pick 430 times, and each time it makes the show unpredictable, even chaotic at times, and it also makes for can’t miss television.
Here are seven of my favorite Corso calls, and the first is what happened that would define Corso’s legacy forever.
October 5, 1996. The location was Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. The game was Penn State at Ohio State, and it was the site of that week’s College GameDay program. At the end of the program, it was time for the team to make their predictions for the big game. It was Corso’s turn to pick. Corso reached under the desk and came back up with the mascot head of Brutus Buckeye, the mascot for Ohio State. Corso put the Buckeye head on and began shouting, “Go Buckeyes!” And with that, a new tradition was born.
October 24, 2015. College GameDay was at James Madison University for the JMU vs Richmond game. At the end of the show, the crew was making picks for the game when Lee Corso emerged dressed in full costume as James Madison himself to announce his pick. Corso picked JMU, and the crowd rejoiced.
2011 National Championship Game. Another memorable headgear occurred at the 2011 National Championship Game between the Auburn Tigers and the Oregon Ducks. It was time for Corso to make his pick. The camera cuts to Lee Corso, who is standing with a duck call in his mouth, and the camera pans down to reveal his pant legs are rolled up to the knees. He then walks to a kiddie pool full of rubber ducks and stands in the pool. He is then joined by the Oregon Duck mascot and the Oregon cheerleaders, who provide him with an Oregon Duck mascot head, which Lee more than willingly puts on, completing an iconic image on college football’s biggest stage.
November 19, 2011. College GameDay was at the University of Houston for the SMU vs Houston game. The gameday team was making their picks, and Corso was up next. He teased picking SMU to win the game. He even went as far as to pull an SMU megaphone out from under the desk, and then he stopped. Lee Corso then said: “Aww… Duck it!” (except he didn’t say “duck”) and threw the megaphone off the set and put on the Houston Cougar mascot head. ESPN made Corso apologize for the profanity, but it has become one of the most iconic moments in the show’s history.
October 19, 2013. The headgear pick has become such a big part of the show that even the celebrity guests on the show love to get involved. One famous instance of this happened when College GameDay was at Clemson University for a showdown between two undefeated teams, Clemson and Florida State. The guest picker that week was Bill Murray, who was there supporting Clemson. Bill Murray had just picked Clemson to win the big game when Lee Corso reentered the stage, wearing a Seminole headdress and spear in hand. The FSU war chant was playing as Corso attempted to plant the spear, when Bill Murray came from around the desk and tackled Corso to the ground!
October 4, 2014. Another well-remembered instance of celebrity involvement came when College GameDay was at Ole Miss for a Top 15 showdown between Alabama and Ole Miss. Katy Perry was the celebrity guest for that show, and she was supporting Ole Miss. Corso picked Alabama and put on the mascot head of “Big Al.” Perry didn’t take kindly to Corso picking the Tide. She pulled the mascot’s head right off of Corso and threw it across the set, much to the delight of the Ole Miss faithful.
October 30, 2010. But perhaps the most famous moment where a celebrity got involved with Lee Corso and the headgear pick happened when College GameDay was in Los Angeles for a game between the Oregon Ducks and the USC Trojans. The guest picker was movie star Will Ferrell, an alum of USC. Of course, Will Ferrell picked the Trojans, but Corso picked the Ducks. And somehow it all ended in a fight between Lee Corso, Will Ferrell, and the Oregon Duck over a giant Lee Corso mascot head.
Lee Corso has provided us with some of the most fun and entertaining moments in the history of College GameDay. He is one of the main reasons that fans tune into College Gameday every week and have done so for decades now. His fun but heartfelt style is one of the main things that made me want to pursue the sports media field. He has created a lasting impact that will never be forgotten.
And so, as we prepare to say goodbye to Lee Corso, I want to say thank you, Coach, for the laughs, memories, and inspiration. College football will never be the same.
