ESPN President Ends Differences for Lee Corso Amid Fox Big Noon Kickoff Announcement

As the curtain rises on the 2025 season, the roar of college football feels different. Yes, the spotlight shines on powerhouses chasing redemption—Alabama, Michigan. But turns out that this season is much bigger than the story of wins and losses. Rather, it’s about someone who helped fans to live the moment while they could not make it to the stadium. That’s none other than the legend, Lee Corso, the face of College GameDay and the heartbeat of Saturday mornings, who is taking his final bow. His goodbye is powerful enough to bridge divides, uniting fans, players, and coaches. And guess what? Even sworn media rivals like Fox and ESPN joined hands to give Corso a heartfelt farewell.

The Fox and ESPN rivalry has a direct connection with the college football conferences. Fox owns most of the rights to the Big Ten, and ESPN has none. On the other hand, ESPN can only count on owning rights to the SEC. Now, as the battle continues for who is the superior media giant, while signing off, Corso melted the iceberg between the two.  

On August 30, the president of ESPN, Bruke Magnus, tweeted, “We were happy to collaborate with Fox Sports on this tribute to Coach Corso. This is a truly special occasion that is about a lifetime of contributions to the sport of college football and transcends any business considerations. @Brett_McMurphy @On3sports.” Now, what is this collaboration all about? As we all must be aware, Corso has been the face of ESPN’s College GameDay. But August 30 is going to mark his final appearance. And in no way could Fox sacrifice telecasting the historic event.

As On3 reported the once-in-a-lifetime occurrence on X,  “NEW: Fox will televise Lee Corso’s final headgear selection on Big Noon Kickoff, @Brett_McMurphy reports. Fox’s Tom Rinaldi and Chris Fallica are also expected to have a Corso tribute👏.” Reporting live from the Ohio Stadium, where Corso will be making his headgear pick for one last time, the plan is to show the pick on the jumbotron, rather than using ESPN’s camera feed.

Of course, this collaboration was no loss for Fox, after all, they knew fans would flip the channel anyway. At 11:50 a.m. ET, every college football fan in the country was bound to switch to ESPN to witness the historic moment.

With a packed house of more than 100,000 fans watching the host’s send-off, it’s indeed going to be a spectacle. Not just this, ESPN has made way for Fox analysts to speak about Corso on his special day. As per the reports, Fox’s Tom Rinaldi and Chris Fallica are both expected to have tributes for Corso during Big Noon Kickoff, having shared the podium with the legend. While fans will be ready with the tissue box to wipe their tears, seeing Corso picking the headgear for one last time, think about the emotional toil of his deskmates.

Kirk Herbstreit struggles to contain his emotions ahead of Lee Corso’s final show 

Ever since Corso announced his retirement in August, bringing an end to his 38-year journey with ESPN, he has received his share of acclaim and send-offs. He was honored at the ESPY Awards in July and received a standing ovation before boarding his flight in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday, August 28. While the 90-year-old Corso has been part of the College GameDay since 1987, he was joined by Kirk Herbstreit a bit later in 1996.

The ESPN analyst shared, “It’s a gamut of different emotions. I’m trying to stay in the celebratory lane this weekend. We don’t want to be emotional or sad when it’s his last show. We can be sad next week. But this weekend, we need to be celebrating him. Everything he’s meant to us and to the sport.” But his emotions are not really in his hands, more so when it comes to Corso, with whom he shared a father-son kind of bond.

While Herbstreit might try to keep his tears at bay on August 30, he broke down in front of the camera, even imagining Corso’s farewell day. He filmed a farewell speech for the College GameDay. And while filming it, Herbstreit had to make frequent pauses, thanks to the good old memories he shared with Corso, which kept replaying in his mind. “An incredible…[breaks down in tears]…honor and privilege to be with ya, to be your partner for all these years. There will never be another Lee Corso…” Herbstreit’s voice broke while speaking.

After all, to this day, he is indebted to Lee Corso for trusting him when nobody did. The College GameDay host still remembers the day from 29 years ago. Back in 1996, Herbstreit was struggling for a breakthrough in the broadcaster’s role. But having an eye for talent, Corso knew that Herbstreit got that X factor. To this day, he carries Corso’s teachings with him, “Sweetheart, sweetheart, remember: We’re in the entertainment business, and football is our vehicle.” So, the vehicle got to be rolling without him.