Lee Corso is retiring from ESPNs “College GameDay” following Week 1 of the college football season, and the longtime analyst’s final show will be in a very appropriate location.
On Tuesday, ESPN announced that “College GameDay” will begin its 2025 season in Columbus, Ohio, on Aug. 30. The Buckeyes are hosting Texas in a College Football Playoff semifinal rematch.
As ESPN noted, Corso made his first headgear selection at Ohio State.
📍 Week 1: Columbus, OH
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) June 10, 2025
We're kicking off College GameDay with a trip to Texas-Ohio State, as we celebrate Lee Corso's final show back where he first made headgear history! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/FtOLmXPXKB
Corso, who will turn 90 in August, has been one of the main draws of “College GameDay” since the program premiered in 1987. He is most famous for his headgear picks, which began in 1996 with Ohio State’s Brutus Buckeye mascot head.
Kirk Herbstreit’s wife Alison, a former Ohio State cheerleader, helped Corso gain access to the Brutus mascot head so the former coach could use it on the air, and the rest is history.
Herbstreit was a quarterback at Ohio State from 1989-1993. He has become very close with Corso over the years and shared a touching message on Corso’s behalf following the news of the former coach’s retirement.
After a lengthy coaching career that included stops at Louisville, Indiana, Northern Illinois and the USFL, Corso joined ESPN as an analyst in 1987. That is the same year “College GameDay” debuted, and Corso is the only personality who has been with the show since its inception.
Corso has had some health issues in recent years, but he has continued to make his popular headgear picks. He became emotional on the air during the 2023 season when ESPN paid tribute to his 400th headgear pick (video here).
You can expect ESPN to plan quite the send-off for Corso in Columbus.
