A Random Saturday in Columbus That Became a College Football Institution
Thirty years ago, Lee Corso pulled a Brutus Buckeye mascot head over his own outside Ohio Stadium, and what started as a one-off bit grew into the single most iconic segment in the history of College GameDay. Corso’s pick that Saturday, in the No. 4 Penn State at No. 3 Ohio State showdown on October 5, 1996, kicked off nearly three decades of Saturday morning tradition. Ohio State won that game 38-7, Corso’s prediction was right, and college football’s most beloved pregame ritual was officially born.
How the Headgear Tradition Actually Started
The idea didn’t come out of nowhere — it needed an assist from Kirk Herbstreit, the former Ohio State quarterback who had just joined the GameDay desk that same year. Herbstreit’s girlfriend at the time, Alison, was an Ohio State fan, and Corso saw that personal connection as his way to the Buckeyes’ mascot costume.
“Lee Corso called me early in the week and said, ‘Sweetheart, can you ask Alison to find out if I can have the Brutus head for my pick?'” Herbstreit recalled. The first request actually got turned down by Ohio State’s cheerleading coach. Corso didn’t let it go, though — he pushed Herbstreit to ask again, and this time Ohio State’s athletic director signed off on it. Corso then made his pick right in the parking lot outside the Horseshoe, and a tradition that would define college football Saturdays for a generation was underway.
Lee Corso’s Legendary Headgear Pick Record
By the time he retired, Corso had made 431 total headgear picks and finished with an overall record of 287-144. According to ESPN’s own Insights tracking (which counts 430 picks through 45 Ohio State selections, not including his very final farewell pick), Ohio State was the program Corso picked more than any other — fitting, given that the Buckeyes were the team that started it all back in 1996. At the point that tracking stopped, Ohio State actually led Alabama by seven selections for the program Corso wore the most over his career.
Lee Corso’s Emotional Final Pick Brought Him Full Circle
In a storybook bit of symmetry, Corso’s very last headgear pick brought him right back to where it all began: Columbus. On August 30, 2025, ahead of No. 1 Texas facing No. 3 Ohio State, Corso stood on the 50-yard line just 16 minutes before kickoff and uttered, “Give me my first love,” before donning the Brutus Buckeye head for the 46th and final time in his career. Ohio State won that game 14-7, and the episode went on to become the most-watched College GameDay broadcast ever, averaging 3.5 million viewers — a fitting send-off for a tradition that began and ended with the same team, the same mascot, and the same emotional pull.
How Is Lee Corso Doing Now?
Retirement hasn’t come easily for Corso. Speaking with WESH’s Daren Stoltzfus in Orlando last fall, Corso didn’t hide his frustration with life away from the show. “Lousy. I hate it. I can’t watch College GameDay. I just can’t get used to it,” he said — a blunt, honest admission from a man who spent nearly four decades as the heartbeat of Saturday morning college football coverage.
Corso turned 91 this past August, and his health has remained a point of concern for fans who grew up watching him. He suffered a stroke back in May 2009 that left him partially paralyzed and unable to speak for about a month, though he returned to the show that same September and went on to work 16 more seasons after that scare. More recently, Kirk Herbstreit gave an emotional update after reuniting with Corso at the Orlando airport ahead of the 2026 season, describing a tearful reunion and noting that while Corso is dealing with real physical ailments that make daily life harder, his mind remains remarkably sharp. “We’d all be lucky to have such cognitive thinking at 91,” Herbstreit said. “His eyes are sharp. He’s dialed in. He’s just going through some stuff that makes it tough on him.”
Despite the health struggles, Corso has continued to be honored for his legacy. The American Football Coaches Association presented him with its prestigious Amos Alonzo Stagg Award at its January convention in Charlotte, North Carolina — recognition of a broadcasting and coaching career that spanned parts of six different decades.
Why This 30-Year Anniversary Still Matters
College GameDay is now in its 40th season, and for the first time in the show’s history, it’s airing an entire season without Lee Corso appearing on a single episode. That absence only underscores just how significant his contribution to the show — and to college football culture as a whole — really was. What began as a lighthearted favor between a broadcaster and his young colleague’s girlfriend turned into one of the most anticipated moments of every college football Saturday for nearly 30 years, a tradition so beloved that it outlived Corso’s own time on the show and will likely continue to be referenced for decades to come.
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