After joining in 1987, Lee Corso remained with ESPN’s College GameDay for 38 consecutive years. In that duration, the show didn’t just win over the hearts of college football fans. It also collected Emmy awards. That trend continued this year, but despite his retirement, Corso still helped College GameDay get another Emmy.

“Congratulations to the @CollegeGameDay production & features teams on their 2026 #SportsEmmys win for ‘Outstanding Edited Sports Special’ for ‘Not So Fast, My Friend: A Lee Corso Special,'” wrote ESPN PR on X this Wednesday. “This is ESPN’s 6th win & 2nd consecutive victory in this category.”

The documentary, “Not So Fast, My Friend: A Lee Corso Special,” was broadcast on ESPN on August 22 last year. It aired on Lee Corso’s 90th birthday to celebrate the legendary College GameDay figure’s contributions not just to broadcasting but to college football as a whole.

And while the majority of the documentary focused on Corso’s 38-year College GameDay career, it also took the viewers through his beginnings as a college QB at Florida State. A section was dedicated to his 28-year coaching career. A week after it was broadcast, Lee Corso made his final appearance on College GameDay when Texas faced Ohio State at Columbus in Week 1 of the 2025 season.

So far, College GameDay has won 17 Sports Emmy Awards. Eleven of those wins came in the Outstanding Sports Studio Show: Weekly category. In fact, the show has won this category for three consecutive years now. The remaining six Awards came in specialized categories, including two in Outstanding Edited Sports Special. Last year, the show won it for its feature on the Harbaugh brothers.

College GameDay, in itself, has had an interesting history. It was recorded live inside ESPN studios in Bristol during its first six seasons. But they took the show on the road in 1993, starting at Notre Dame, while Corso birthed the most famous tradition of headgear in October 1996 in Columbus. During the naming of the OSU vs. PSU game winner, he wore the head of the Brutus Buckeye mascot costume.

Following that, Corso incorporated live animals and firing prop guns, making the headgear piece a famous spectacle. In 2009, he took a break, suffering a major stroke that temporarily paralyzed his right side, but later that season, he returned. But for Corso, life after retirement has been tough.

Lee Corso’s life after ESPN

Following his retirement, Lee Corso told a media outlet that adjusting to the quiet life has been tough. When he was asked how he was enjoying his first season of college football after retirement, he was candid.

“I hate it,” said Corso. “I can’t watch College GameDay. I just can’t get used to it. I’m not working anymore. I used to fly all over. It sucks.”

Leaving ESPN, where he worked for 38 years with Kirk Herbstreit, Rece Davis, Pat McAfee, Desmond Howard, and Nick Saban, wasn’t easy for Corso.

“ESPN has been exceptionally generous to me, especially these past few years. They accommodated me and supported me, as did my colleagues in the early days of College GameDay. Special thanks to Kirk Herbstreit for his friendship and encouragement,” said Corso. “And lest I forget, the fans truly a blessing to share this with them. ESPN gave me this wonderful opportunity and provided me with the support to ensure success. I am genuinely grateful.”

But since his emotional farewell broadcast, he has remained away from public events.