Earlier this week, ESPN announced that Lee Corso’s near-four-decade run as an analyst would officially come to an end following a final “College GameDay” appearance on Saturday, August 30.
That show will also feature Coso’s final headgear prediction.
“My family and I will be forever indebted for the opportunity to be part of ESPN and College GameDay for nearly 40 years,” he said in a statement. “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.”
Following Corso’s retirement announcement, there was an outpouring of love for the soon-to-be 90-year-old and all that he’s brought to the world of college football.
Given that Corso spends no time online and has no social media presence, Kirk Herbstreit took it upon himself to relay that love to the long-time analyst and then share a subsequent thank you to the fans.
“Ya gotta know our guy doesn’t have a computer let alone social media…haha…so I called him just now to make sure he knew how much the CFB community has been pouring out their love for him,” Herbstreit wrote on Friday afternoon. “As we talked about other things we were about to hang up and he said, ‘Hey Kirk can you put up on your Facebook or Twitter or whatever it is how much I appreciate all the well wishes, it really means a lot to me.’
“I told him, ‘I don’t have Facebook but I’ll definitely send out a tweet to let people know how much you appreciate it.’
“It’s hard to let go I’m sure, but he really sounds like he’s at peace and it’s the right time. God bless him. He’s the best!”
Corso is the last remaining member of the original “College GameDay” panel, which was established in 1987.
There will never be another one like him.
