Lee Corso

Who is Lee Corso?

Lee Corso is a head coach and sports broadcaster. Lee Corso has been a commentator for ESPN’s weekly program College GameDay since its inception in 1987. Lee former footballer has been with ESPN for almost 30 years and has no plans to leave anytime soon.

In 2017, ESPN signed Corso to a multi-year contract to keep him on College GameDay, claiming that they couldn’t picture the show without him and that they are fortunate to call him their own.

Education, Family, And Childhood

Lee Corso was born on August 7, 1935, in Maryland, Florida.

He also attended Miami Jackson Senior High School and graduated with honors.

Corso is the son of Italian immigrants Alessandro Corso and Irma Corso.

His father left Italy when he was 15 years old.

Furthermore, the former head coach’s parents were uneducated and employed in part-time jobs.

Irma worked in school cafeterias while Alessandro lay terrazzo floors.

Lee, too, attended Florida State University after graduating from high school and earned a degree in physical education.

He went on to acquire a degree in Administration and Supervision later on.

Facts of Lee Corso

Salary And Net Worth

Lee Corso’s net worth is around $12 million as of 2022. Despite not having an exact estimation of his salary, the average ESPN analyst earns about $54,000.

Charity

The sports analyst works for a charity that raises money to fight against pediatric cancer in children called Coaches Curing Kid’s Cancer. Lee is the honorary chairman of the charity.

Career as a player

After playing quarterback at Miami Jackson, the former head coach went on to play football for Florida State University.

He also played baseball, however, he was always more interested in football. He then turned down a $5000 signing bonus from the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball franchise.

Because of his remarkable speed on the football field, the sports pundit was nicknamed “Sunshine Scooter” by his teammates.

Furthermore, as a defensive player, Lee owned the record for most interceptions (14), which he held for two decades.

Assisting Coaches in the Early Years

Coached by his old Florida State University coach Tommy Nugent, the broadcaster began his coaching career as an assistant coach.

Corso was encouraged by his coach to recruit Darryl Hill, a black player, and persuade him to play for the Maryland Terrapins.

Hill went on to become the Atlantic Coast Conference’s first African-American player. He also went on to set two records that are still in use today.

In 1966, Lee joined the Navy as a coach. In 1969, he was given the head coaching post at Louisville, which he accepted.

The former footballer served as the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals, where he also coached ESPN colleague Tom Jackson.

In 1970, the former Miami Jackson led the Cardinals to their second-ever bowl game before leaving to join Indiana, where he finished with a winning record. In the final AP poll, Louisville was ranked 18th.

Career as a coach in Indiana

Corso was employed by Indiana in 1972. The Italian-American went on to win two seasons with the Indiana Hoosiers, in 1979 and 1980.

The Hoosiers went to the 1979 Holiday Bowl with a 7-4 record and upset the previously undefeated Brigham Young Cougars.

Indiana was ranked 16th in the United Press International (UPI) poll after their victory. This was their first Top-20 finish since 1967.

In the first quarter of the 1976 season, Indiana scored a touchdown against Ohio, marking the first time the Hoosiers had led the Buckeyes in a game in 25 years.

Corso even called a timeout to snap a team photo with the scoreboard in the background displaying a 7-6 tie.

In nearly ten years in Indiana, he had a 41-68-2 record. In general, the former Miami Jackson star had a terrific career with Indiana.

Coaching Experience in Northern Illinois and the United States Football League

He went on to coach the Illinois Huskies at Northern Illinois University after that. In addition, he became the college’s 16th head coach.

However, he only coached the Huskies for one season and was unable to lead them to the same success as Louisville and Indiana.

In 1985, he began coaching professionally for the first time with the Orlando Renegades of the United States Football League (USFL).

The league was, however, postponed and subsequently abandoned in 1986.

In addition, throughout his coaching career with the Orlando Renegades, Lee had a 5-13 win-loss record.

Awards and Achievements

The father of four received the National Collegiate Football Awards Association’s Contributions to College Football Award in 2010 for his significant contributions to college football.

In addition, in the years 1970 and 1972, he won two Missouri Valley Conferences (MVCs).

Careers In Broadcasting And Others

In 1987, ESPN recruited the former head coach as a sports analyst for their weekly program College GameDay.

He has been a host of the show from its inception and continues to do so today.

Fans from all across the world expressed their admiration and affection for the performance.

Lee and his co-hosts Desmond Howard, Rece Davis, and Kirk Herbstreit are well-known for their comic antics.

He is also known for saying, “Not so fast, my friend,” while holding a pencil in his hand, usually in response to his co-host Kirk’s predictions.

There’s no way you don’t know about the mascot headgear prediction if you know the sportscaster well.

Corso wears the mascot headgear of the team he thinks will win every week from August to January.

He also appeared in EA Sports’ NCAA football games every year with Kirk Herbstreit and Brad Nessler.

He began the 2006 edition with his headgear prediction due to increased demand and popularity.

Wife, Kids, and Grandkids

Lee Corso and his wife, Betsy Corso, have been husband and wife for over six decades now.

Sadly, there is not much information out there, but reportedly the two were either high school or college sweethearts.

The duo married in 1957 and sixty years later, they are still happily married.

The pair have four kids and ten grandchildren altogether.

However, the broadcaster has kept his children and wife’s life out of the spotlight and is private about his family.

Stroke, Health, and Life

On May 16 of 2009, at 73, Corso suffered a stroke at his Florida home. The former coach had to be kept in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for three days.

Even after that, he stayed in the hospital for a week before discharge.

As a result of the stroke, he was partially paralyzed on the right side, which led to prolonged rehabilitation.

On top of that, he couldn’t speak for a month, and his cognitive functions, such as thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, learning, etc., were severely affected and slowed.

Nevertheless, the stroke couldn’t keep him from his beloved job, and he hosted the 2009 season of College GameDay.

Slowly but surely, his speech eventually recovered with therapy and rehabilitation; however, there are few noticeable differences.

Since then, he rehearses all the scripts and appearances on the show to deliver appropriately.

The talented analyst seems to be doing relatively better these days while working in ESPN. He seems to be having fun more than ever.

Nature And Legacy

Lee Corso is a very dedicated and grateful person who is also hardworking and persistent on TV as much as he was in coaching.

Furthermore, “Sunshine Scooter” is one of the best defensive backs the Florida State University and the sports world offers.

The former athlete’s dire love and respect for the game are why he’s still among us and working.

Despite some setbacks in his career and health, he still loves the game dearly and enough to fight against all the odds to be a part of the sports world.

The former head coach didn’t even let his stroke be a reason to stop doing what he does. Moreover, he is very popular among fans, media, and co-workers.

Retirement Issue

The man is already in his mid-late 80s and still absolutely energetic on the screen.

He has the potential, charm, and magic to pull it off. However, a lot of people desperately want to see Corso retire.

It might have aroused because of concern for the old man’s health or hunger to see a new face lightening the show.

Everyone is well aware of the Covid-19 pandemic, and ESPN took a wise decision thereby.

They chose to keep Corso at home because of his age and possible health threats.

People are of the opinion that ESPN should give continuity to their decision by keeping Corso at home even after this pandemic gets normal.

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On Spotlight

Corso was spotted saying “Ah Fuck it” in an episode of College GameDay.

The audience loved Corso’s free attitude and lack of hesitation.

However, ESPN did not take it well. Corso was made to apologize for the blunder. He said,

“Earlier today on College GameDay, I used an expletive I shouldn’t have. I apologize and promise it won’t happen again”.