Lee Corso is 90 years old, and getting around isn't as easy as it used to be for the ESPN "College GameDay" legend and former Indiana coach. So he won't be in Miami for Indiana's national championship game at Hard Rock Stadium against the Miami Hurricanes, rooting on the Hoosiers from home instead.
MIAMI, Fla. — The legendary Lee Corso, who became the face of college football during his 38 years on ESPN's "College GameDay" and was the former coach at Indiana from 1973 to 1982, will not be in attendance on Monday night when the Hoosiers try to win their first-ever national championship against Miami.
Corso, who turned 90 last August, will watch the game from his home in Orlando. It's getting more difficult for him to travel at his age, so the Miami native will not be at the game, which is being broadcast by ESPN, his TV home for the past three-plus decades.
Prominent Indiana booster Terry Tallen, who played for Corso in the late 1970s and early '80s and was a two-time captain for him, spoke to Corso by phone earlier this week at his Orlando home. The coach will be watching the game from home, Tallen said.
It's getting a little too difficult for him to travel, so he'll watch the game from the comforts of his living room.
“Coach is doing great. He’s sharp as a tack and very happy,'' Tallen said. "When we spoke the other day, I asked him about this (Indiana) team, and he said, ‘Terry, I think that this is the best college football team that I’ve ever seen. I’ve been around for a long time, so I’m qualified to say that.'
“It’s wonderful to see all of this, and it’s great to have Coach engaged. It’s fabulous.’’
Kyle Schwarber and Lee Corso pick Indiana to win on College Gameday before the start of the Indiana versus Washington football game at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 26, 2024. Rich Janzurak/Imagn Images.Corso spent 38 years on ESPN's College GameDay'' and was best known for his and headgear picks. He retired this year, and had one final send-off at the Aug. 30 game between then No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Ohio State in Columbus. He picked Ohio State in his final game, and the Buckeyes won.
Corso coached at Indiana from 1973 to 1982 and led the Hoosiers to a Holiday Bowl win over BYU in 1979, the school's first-ever bowl victory. They had only won three bowl games ever before this year, and now they've won two — the Rose Bowl over Alabama and the Peach Bowl over Oregon — on their way to the national championship game.
Corso went 41-68-2 at Indiana. He is third all-time in wins in Bloomington, behind only Bill Mallory (68) and Bo McMillan (63).
Indiana has made a miraculous turnaround under Curt Cignetti these past two seasons. He went 11-2 in 2024, making the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff field. Their only two losses were at No. 1 Ohio State during the regular season, and in the first round of the playoffs at Notre Dame, which finished No. 2 in the country after losing to Ohio State in last year's title game.
Indiana won its first 10 games in 2024 and in late October, ESPN's College GameDay did it's pregame show live from Bloomington before their game with Washington. It was as much a celebration of Corso as it was the greatness of that current Indiana team.
"That was one of my all-time favorite days on our beautiful campus, because it was so great to see Coach Corso there, and we had a lot of former players back in town to celebrate it all,'' Tallen said. "And you could tell from just watching him that he really enjoyed it, too. We all did. Coach is just the greatest.''
The ESPN College GameDay crew will be doing their show before Monday night's championship game, and the cast of Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Nick Saban and Pat McAfee will surely give a shout-out to Corso during the show.