In a press release on Thursday morning, ESPN announced that legendary analyst Lee Corso would be retiring following one final College GameDay show and one final headgear selection.
Corso's final GameDay will be on the Week 1 show on August 30th. There has not been an official announcement on where GameDay will be for Week 1, but the obvious choice is Columbus, Ohio, for Ohio State's home matchup against Texas. Corso's first-ever headgear pick in 1996 saw him don the head of Brutus the Buckeye. It seems fitting for that to be his final headgear pick as well, though a "not so fast, my friend!" followed by Corso putting on the Longhorn head would be iconic Corso.
Corso has covered college football for 38 years and for many of us, he has been the face of the sport. Other shows, such as Fox's Big Noon Kickoff, have tried to replicate the formula, but College GameDay has always reigned supreme. Corso has always been a big reason why.
Corso turns 90 in August, and even his biggest fans would tell you it is time for him to walk away. It's great that he's getting to do so on his own terms and will have the celebration he deserves to kick off the 2025 college football season. GameDay in Week 1 will turn into a full-on celebration of Corso's legendary career. He deserves nothing less.
In a statement, Corso said: “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.”
How often has Lee Corso donned Alabama headgear?
An interesting note in ESPN's press release showed the top five teams Corso has picked the most when he has made his iconic headgear selection at the end of College GameDay every week. It has widely been discussed how Ohio State is No. 1, but the No. 2 team on that list might surprise you.
Alabama is 2nd with 38 headgear selections, just seven behind the Buckeyes on the all-time Corso list. Ohio State and Alabama are head and shoulders above the rest of the field with LSU in a distant third place with 25 all-time selections.
The first time Corso picked Alabama in a headgear selection was in 1996 when he correctly predicted the Crimson Tide would beat LSU. That was the coming-out party for a little-known redshirt freshman named Shaun Alexander, who rushed for a school-record 291 yards in Alabama's 26-0 win in Baton Rouge.
The last time Corso did a headgear pick for an Alabama game, he incorrectly picked LSU to beat Alabama last November before the Crimson Tide dismantled the Tigers in Baton Rouge.
His last correct pick for Alabama was against Georgia in Tuscaloosa last season.