In 1987, a college football coach transitioned into broadcasting, following the path of legends like Frank Boyles and John Madden. At the time, his arrival at ESPN didn’t appear eventful. However, in a career spanning around four decades, Lee Corso became the heartbeat of college football. Now on the cusp of his retirement and with just one game of announcing left in his bag, Corso is celebrating another milestone in his career.
Football was probably all Corso loved ever since he started playing it in high school. He featured for FSU from 1953 to 1957. From then on, the journey and rise in the ranks of the coaching world came easily, as Corso dedicated his 13 years to Louisville and Indiana. “Lee Corso put Louisville football on the map. His energy and success in the early ’70s gave us something to build on when I got there,” said former Cardinals head coach Howard Schnellenberg about Corso’s impact on the program. That legacy still lives on as Corso celebrates his 90th birthday.
Kirk Herbstreit, who has been sharing the College GameDay desk with Corso for almost three decades now, wrote a heartfelt message for the 90-year-old legend. “Happy 90th birthday to the man! Love ya, bud!” wrote Herbstreit on X. Herbstreit, who became an analyst transitioning from a college football player, has been pivotal for ‘College GameDay,’ with the duo together winning 9 Emmys for the show. Their roles not just complemented each other but also came in different colors.
“Lee showed me how to connect with fans, to not take it too seriously, but to love the game deeply,” said Herbstreit about Corso’s influence on his career. Consequently, Herbstreit also remained loyal to Corso even when the legend took a brief hiatus after suffering a stroke in 2009. Herbstreit even then played some prerecorded videos for the fans and acknowledged the huge part that Corso plays even when he wasn’t there in the press box.
Happy 90th birthday to the man!
Love ya bud! pic.twitter.com/C11Wmkd1P2
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) August 7, 2025
“Lee’s resilience is unreal. He’s the heart of this show, and we all rallied around him,” said Herbstreit in 2010 about Corso. Moreover, who can forget that iconic “not so fast, my friend” line that Corso used to say when countering Herbstreit’s predictions? It was truly a pinnacle of college football announcing, and Corso transformed it in more than enough ways. And now? Tributes are pouring in on his birthday.
Tributes pour in for Lee Corso on his birthday
ESPN announced back in April that Lee Corso would finally retire and would come for one last game at Columbus, Ohio, against Texas. It would be Corso’s 431st headgear pick and will be a pivotal moment for the CFB world. But before that happened, Corso was honored at the recently held ESPYs and was given a tribute by Pat McAfee and Herbstreit. Now, on his birthday, Rece Davis has come out with a heartfelt wish for the legend.
“Happy 90th! Thanks for being a great friend and teammate,” wrote Rece Davis on his IG story, posting a photo together with him. Not just Davis, but ESPN’s vice president, Bill Hofheimer, also came out with a message honoring Corso. “Happy 9⃣0⃣th birthday to ESPN’s Lee Corso! LC’s final @CollegeGameDay show will be Aug. 30 in Columbus. Our crew is going to have a very special send-off for all he’s meant to college football,” wrote Bill on his X account.
From over 400 headgear picks that Corso has made in his career, one of the most emotional ones was probably the 2017 headgear pick for the Hoosiers. In the same year, he made it to Bloomington, Indiana, and received the Bill Orwin Award for his contributions to Indiana Athletics. Now, 8 years since that happened, Indiana football has responded again as they wished him on his birthday.
“Happy birthday, Coach Corso,” wrote Indiana Football’s X account as they posted a photo of Corso smiling in an Indiana sweater. Even ESPN’s official PR account on X wrote a message for Corso, dedicating an event for him on 22nd August. “Not so fast, my friend!” Before @CollegeGameDay analyst Lee Corso selects his final headgear, ESPN presents a 1-hr special honoring the legend.”
Corso’s legacy for the college football world didn’t just remain in the press box or on the field. Why? Corso didn’t shy away from going against the tide if he needed to, as he broke the ACC color barrier in 1962 and recruited Darryl Hill to Maryland, a bold and courageous move in the segregation era. And that’s the reason the award-winning journalist, Dawn Montgomery, wished and wrote, “Lee is 90 years old today, and I cannot imagine College Football without him.”
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