If we were to describe college football in one word, it would be tradition. The fabric of college football is woven with the thread of tradition. And the inception of the 2025 season will mark the end of one broadcasting tradition that made fans glued to their seats. This August, fans will witness Lee Corso revealing his headgear for one last time on College GameDay. It’s hard to picture a fall Saturday without the echoes of “Not so fast, my friend!” With his jolly personality and regular back-and-forth with Kirk Herbstreit, Corso made watching College GameDay a ritual, and the show gained a cult-like following. 

As the game itself went through a plethora of changes, with NIL, transfer portals, and realignment reshaping the landscape, College GameDay stayed constant. It traveled across campuses, spotlighted rivalries big and small, and gave fans across the country a reason to wake up early. And for people who have lived the game from both sides, on the field and on the headset, it became something more. Texas Longhorns’ head coach Steve Sarkisian opened up on the 3rd & Longhorn podcast, sharing just how deeply Corso and GameDay are embedded in the sport’s DNA.

“I always think about, you know, College GameDay. The inception of it really was when I was in college. And, I joke with Kirk Herbstreit about this all the time. We were playing Rice, and I was at BYU. And, you know, they do the game day picks; like, they were doing that way back then. This is 1996, and they picked Rice to beat us, and we beat them like 49 to nothing,” Sarkisian said, recalling a memory.

But that moment, as trivial as it may seem, left a mark. He continued about how College GameDay leveled the playing field in terms of exposure to programs. He said, “The impact that they’ve had on our game and some of the great stories that they get to tell, highlighting some of the programs that maybe didn’t have the exposure.”

Sarkisian made it a point to give Corso his flowers. “All the while Lee Corso was on that show, everybody looked forward to him putting on the mascot head or whatever the little skit was going to be at the end.” With the sport reaching new levels of popularity, Sarkisian believes Corso and GameDay deserve their share of the credit. “It’s the most popular college football has ever been, and I think, and credit is due, to College GameDay and, most notably, you know, Coach Corso and what they did. So, I always make it a point to acknowledge those guys when I can. Because I grew up in the profession with them.”

As College GameDay gears up for another season, Lee Corso’s familiar smile and iconic headgear picks still bring that spark of tradition fans cherish. Fittingly, his final headgear pick is expected to come at Texas vs. Ohio State. And as Steve Sarkisian’s tribute reminds us, in this dynamic sport, it’s voices like Corso’s that keep the soul intact. His heartbeat may be the loudest echo in college football.

No Final Bow at Home for Corso

As Lee Corso prepares for his final College GameDay headgear pick, many expected the iconic moment to unfold in Tallahassee. Corso is a proud alum of Florida State, so the Seminoles’ showdown with Alabama would have been the perfect way to close this chapter. But he had other plans. Instead, the show will head north to Columbus for Ohio State vs. Texas. And that decision left more than a few fans in Florida disappointed.

Among them was Corso’s son, Dan, who spoke candidly about the choice. “As a family of Seminoles, yes, it was disappointing,” he said. “But at the same time, it will be fun to watch his last GameDay and headgear in Columbus.” Though the final setting won’t be in the Sunshine State, the sentiment remains the same. Corso’s influence on Florida State and college football as a whole is lasting.

Ironically, the Buckeyes bring things full circle. It was Brutus Buckeye’s head that Corso first put on back in 1996, launching the headgear tradition that became his signature. Now, nearly three decades later, he’ll close that chapter where it started, just not where many hoped it would end.