April 17, 2025
Kirby Lee/Imagn Images
ESPN 'College GameDay' anaylst Lee Corso will retire in August after nearly 40 years with the show, which first visited Philly in 2002. Corso dressed as Benjamin Franklin and correctly picked Penn to beat Ivy League rival Harvard. He is shown above at Rose Bowl Stadium in California in January.
After nearly four decades on ESPN's "College GameDay," beloved football analyst Lee Corso announced Thursday he'll retire from the traveling pregame show with a final broadcast on Aug. 30.
Corso, who turns 90 in August, has long been known for his eccentric catchphrases and his tradition of picking games by donning the headgear of mascots for the teams he expects to win. His finest broadcast may have been on Nov. 16, 2002, when "College GameDay" made its first visit to Philadelphia for an Ivy League showdown between Penn and Harvard.
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It was the show's first trip to a Division I-AA (now known as FCS) school since the crew started traveling to college football's biggest weekly matchups in 1993. Broadcasting from Franklin Field, Corso dressed up as Benjamin Franklin and told co-hosts Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler he was riding with the Quakers.
"I founded Penn!" Corso said, banging his hand on the desk in front of him. "This is my school!"
"And Harvard has no mascot," Fowler added. "You can't pick them."
"They got nothing!" Corso said. "No, I'm going with Penn."
Penn and Harvard both had impressive seasons and entered the game with an Ivy League Championship on the line. The Quakers, led by coach Al Bagnoli, had a 7-1 record and were undefeated against Ivy League schools. Harvard, at 5-3 overall, also was unbeaten against Ivy League competition and had defeated Penn a year earlier.
The Quakers obliterated Harvard 44-9, led by quarterback Mike Mitchell's 317 passing yards and four touchdowns. The game was over by halftime with Penn out to a 34-2 lead, allowing only a safety to Harvard. And immediately after that play, Penn's defense forced a fumble that was returned 51 yards for a touchdown.
"Moments like that, you don't forget," Mitchell told Franklin Field Illustrated in a 2017 story looking back at the game, which was uploaded on YouTube and features interviews with former players and coaches.
During the 2002 season, Penn outscored their seven Ivy League opponents by a combined score of 284-74. Their only loss of the season came against a Villanova team that made it all the way to the NCAA I-AA semifinals.
In later years, "College GameDay" returned to Philadelphia for several Army-Navy games and also had a broadcast from Independence Mall for a 2015 matchup between Temple and Notre Dame. Corso dressed like a leprechaun and picked the Fighting Irish, who went on to beat the Owls 24-20. All-time, he's 286-144 in his 430 selections.
Corso, who coached in the NCAA and USFL before starting his broadcasting career, said Thursday he will be "forever indebted" to ESPN and his "College GameDay" colleagues.
"I have a treasure of many friends, fond memories and some unusual experiences to take with me into retirement," he said in a statement released by ESPN.
