Here’s how ESPN will send off College GameDay icon Lee Corso

After nearly four decades as the heart and soul of ESPN's College GameDay, Lee Corso is finally set to call it a career. Corso, 89, announced his retirement from the show on Thursday, drawing tributes from across the college football world.

You could fill several books with stories about Corso's GameDay run and what he's meant to the sport of college football. He's a singular figure, a former coach who managed to marry deep knowledge of the game with an abiding passion for the oddities and pageantry that made it special — and who had a preternatural ability to communicate both every Saturday for a national TV audience.

Thankfully, though, we don't have to talk about Corso's career in the past tense just yet. While he's saying goodbye to GameDay, the show is giving him one more chance to throw on the headgear next season.

Lee Corso set for final College GameDay broadcast during Week 1 of 2025 season

It wouldn't have felt right to deny college football fans the opportunity to give Corso a proper sendoff. He'll get just that in Week 1 of the 2025 season, as ESPN is giving him one final appearance on GameDay.

The location of that appearance has yet to be announced, as the network doesn't decide on its opening location for GameDay until later this summer. But there are some excellent on-paper candidates: Corso's alma mater, Florida State, will host Alabama in Week 1, while Ohio State — Corso's very first headgear pick, and the team he's picked more than any other over the course of his career — welcomes Texas to Columbus.

Wherever he winds up, though, fans around the country will be grateful to have one final chance to soak up what's made Corso such a special figure for 38 years now. What special guests will ESPN bring in for the occasion? What will Corso have in store for his final mascot pick? We'll just have to wait to find out.