Lee Corso

Corso has been married to his wife, Betsy, since the late 1950s. The couple has four children and 10 grandchildren.

While attending Florida State University, Corso was college roommates and teammates with actor Burt Reynolds. The two maintained a close friendship until Reynolds died in 2018. Outside of sports, Corso worked in corporate development for Dixon Ticonderoga, a manufacturer of pencils and art supplies, where he helped lead an initiative to create crayons made entirely from soybeans.

On May 16, 2009, Corso suffered a stroke at his home in Florida, which resulted in partial paralysis. He spent three days in intensive care and a week in the hospital before undergoing extensive rehabilitation. The stroke temporarily took away his ability to speak for a month and slowed his cognitive processing. Following his recovery, he returned to College GameDay for the 2009 season, adapting to the aftereffects of the stroke by scripting and rehearsing his segments in advance.

Corso grew up in Miami, Florida, after moving with his family from Illinois at age 10. He attended Miami Jackson High School, where he starred at quarterback and emerged as a standout baseball prospect. Although offered a $5,000 signing bonus to join the Brooklyn Dodgers as a shortstop, he chose to attend Florida State University.

At Florida State, Corso earned four varsity letters each in football and baseball. Playing both quarterback and cornerback, he earned the nickname "Sunshine Scooter" for his quickness. On defense, he set a school record with 14 career interceptions, a mark that stood for more than 20 years. He earned a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1957 and completed a master's degree in administration and supervision in 1958.

Corso began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Florida State in 1958 before becoming the quarterbacks coach at Maryland under Tommy Nugent. In 1962, Corso played a central role in recruiting Darryl Hill to transfer from the Naval Academy to Maryland, making Hill the first African American football player in Atlantic Coast Conference history. Corso later coached defensive backs at Navy from 1966 to 1968.

Corso earned his first collegiate head coaching position at the University of Louisville in 1969. During his four-season tenure, he compiled a 28-11-3 record, won two Missouri Valley Conference championships, and guided the Cardinals to the 1970 Pasadena Bowl.

In 1973, Corso took over as head coach at Indiana University, remaining with the Hoosiers through the 1982 season. His tenure was highlighted by the 1979 campaign, in which Indiana finished 8-4, defeated previously unbeaten BYU in the Holiday Bowl, and earned a No. 16 national ranking. During a 1976 game against Ohio State, Corso called a timeout after an early second-quarter touchdown solely to take a team photo in front of a 7-6 scoreboard, marking the first time Indiana had led Ohio State in 25 years. After compiling a 41-68-2 record at Indiana, he coached Northern Illinois for one season in 1984 before leading the USFL's Orlando Renegades in 1985.

Corso joined ESPN in 1987 as a college football analyst and became a foundational personality on College GameDay. When the pregame show transitioned to broadcasting live from major game sites in 1993, Corso emerged as a central figure alongside co-hosts Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit, frequently offering lively counterpoints and popularizing his catchphrase, "Not so fast, my friend!"

In October 1996, during a broadcast in Columbus, Ohio, Corso began a signature tradition by putting on Ohio State's Brutus Buckeye mascot head to reveal his pick to win. Over nearly three decades, Corso made 431 headgear selections, compiling an overall prediction record of 287-144. His appearances extended to EA Sports' NCAA Football video game series, where he provided commentary and appeared in pregame headgear prediction sequences.

Corso announced his retirement from broadcasting in April 2025. His final appearance on College GameDay took place on August 30, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio, for a matchup between Texas and Ohio State. For his 431st and final pick, he chose Ohio State, closing his broadcast career with a successful pick as the Buckeyes won 14-7.

Corso has served as the honorary chairman of Coaches Curing Kids' Cancer, an organization raising funds for pediatric cancer research through youth sports. He is also a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Alumni Hall of Fame.

Corso's contributions have been recognized across numerous athletic and media institutions. He has been inducted into the athletics halls of fame at Florida State University, the University of Louisville, and Indiana University, as well as the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame, and the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame. In addition, he received the National College Football Awards Association Contributions to College Football Award, the NFF Chris Schenkel Award, and the AFCA Amos Alonzo Stagg Award.