27 Facts About Lee Corso

1.

Lee Richard Corso was born on August 7,1935 and is an American sports broadcaster and football analyst for ESPN and a former coach.

2.

Lee Corso has been a featured analyst on ESPN's College GameDay program since its inception in 1987.

3.

Lee Corso's father fled Italy during World War I at age 15.

4.

Lee Corso was born in Cicero, Illinois, on August 7,1935.

5.

Lee Corso was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

6.

Lee Corso graduated with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1957 and a master's degree in administration and supervision in 1958.

7.

In 1962, Lee Corso followed Nugent's guidance to recruit an academically and athletically qualified black player and convinced Darryl Hill to transfer from the Naval Academy, making him the first African-American football player in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

8.

In 1966, Lee Corso became the defensive backs coach at Navy.

9.

Lee Corso coached at Indiana from 1973 to 1982, leading the Hoosiers to two winning seasons in 1979 and 1980.

10.

Lee Corso was the 16th head football coach at Northern Illinois University.

11.

Lee Corso was slated to return to the Renegades when it was slated to return in fall 1986, but the league suspended operations before the season began.

12.

In 1987, Lee Corso was hired by ESPN as an analyst for its Saturday College GameDay program that, sicne 1993, had originated from the site of one of the day's big games.

13.

Lee Corso is known for ending every weekly show with his mascot headgear prediction, when he chooses who he thinks will win the game at GameDay site by donning the headpiece of the school's mascot.

14.

Lee Corso made his 250th headgear pick, TCU's Super Frog, before the TCU-WVU game in Morgantown, West Virginia, on November 1,2014.

15.

In 2009, Lee Corso suffered a stroke, causing partial paralysis, and requiring three days of intensive care followed by a week's stay in the hospital and in 2022, Lee Corso missed five GameDay broadcasts due to health issues.

16.

Lee Corso made a brief cameo in a 2006 Nike commercial featuring the fictional Briscoe High School football team, portrayed by football icons such as Michael Vick, LaDainian Tomlinson, Brian Urlacher, Troy Polamalu, and fellow FSU great Deion Sanders, and by coaches Don Shula, Jimmy Johnson, and Urban Meyer.

17.

Lee Corso takes his hawk mascot head off while the game's deciding play unfolds in slow-motion.

18.

Lee Corso appeared annually in EA Sports' NCAA Football titles along with Herbstreit and play-by-play man Brad Nessler until NCAA Football 11, in which he does not do play-by-play.

19.

The 2006 edition of the game begins with Lee Corso making his mascot headgear prediction.

20.

In 2001, Lee Corso spearheaded an effort to create a crayon completely out of soybeans.

21.

Lee Corso serves as honorary chairman of Coaches Curing Kids' Cancer, a charity that raises money for pediatric cancer research through youth sports teams.

22.

Lee Corso was honored with the National College Football Awards Association's Contributions to College Football Award "recognizing exceptional contributions to college football and a lifetime of achievement and integrity" during the Home Depot College Football Awards show at Walt Disney World on December 9,2010.

23.

On May 16,2009, Lee Corso suffered a stroke at his Florida home, suffering partial paralysis.

24.

Lee Corso spent three days in intensive care and a week in the hospital, followed by a lengthy rehabilitation.

25.

Lee Corso was able to return to his ESPN College GameDay duties for the 2009 season.

26.

The stroke left him unable to speak for a month and severely slowed his cognitive function; since the stroke, Lee Corso has had to script and rehearse his appearances on College GameDay and is no longer able to effectively ad lib.

27.

Lee Corso has been married to his wife, Betsy, since 1957.