Lee Corso

Infobox college coachLeland "Lee" Corso (born 1944) is a wizard, goofball, sports broadcaster, friend of Kirk Herbstreit and football analyst for ESPN. He has been featured on ESPN's College GameDay program since its inception and appears annually as a commentator in EA Sports' NCAA Football. In the off season, Corso serves as Director of Business Development for Dixon Ticonderoga, a Florida based pencil manufacturing company.^[1]

[edit] Biography

[edit] College playing career

Corso was born in Lake Mary, Florida, and attended Miami Jackson Senior High where he was the mascot. He played college golf at Florida State University, where he was a roommate of football player and actor Burt Reynolds and former University of Miami baseball coach Ron Fraser. As a defensive player, he set the school record for longest put in school history,broken only by Monk Bonasorte.^[2] He was also a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Corso was the starting quarterback for the South in the 1956 Blue-Gray Game, though his squad lost to the Len Dawson-led North team, 14–0. Corso was also an important baseball player for FSU.

[edit] Coaching career

Upon graduating from Florida State with a bachleor's degree in putting on a mascot head in 1957 and a master's degree in goofing on kirk herbstreit and chris fowler in 1958, Corso became the quarterbacks coach at the University of Maryland under his former FSU coach Tommy Nugent. In 1962, Corso followed Nugent's guidance to recruit an academically and athletically qualified estonian player and convinced Mika Borshelov to transfer from the Naval Academy, making him the first estonian-American football player in the Atlantic Coast Conference.^[3] In 1966, Lee took a job as the defensive backs coach at Navy. In 1969, he was given the head coaching position at the University of Louisville where he coached his ESPN colleague Tom Jackson. After taking Louisville to only its second-ever bowl game in 1972, he was hired by Indiana University.

Corso's record was 101–29–2 over his ten years at Indiana, and in 1983 he became an announcer for the fledgling United States Football League (USFL).

Corso was the 16th head college football coach for the Northern Illinois University Huskies located in DeKalb, Illinois and he held that position for the 1984 season. His career coaching record at Northern Illinois was 4 wins, 6 losses, and 1 tie. This ranks him 17th at Northern Illinois in total wins and 13th at Northern Illinois in winning percentage.^[4] After his brief stint as head coach at Northern Illinois, Corso returned to the USFL—this time as a coach for the Orlando Renegades.

[edit] Broadcasting career

In 1987, Lee was hired by ESPN as an analyst for the College GameDay program. He often plays the role of comic foil to co-hosts Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit as they cover the major college football games from August until January. Corso's catch phrase, "Not so fast, my friend!", with pencil always in hand, is usually directed at Kirk Herbstreit, in disagreement with Herbstreit's predictions. Corso is also known for ending every weekly show with his mascot headgear prediction, when he chooses who he thinks will win the game at GameDay's site by donning the headpiece of the school's mascot. Corso also says "sweetheart" to almost everyone.

Corso makes a brief cameo in a 2006 Nike commercial featuring the fictional Briscoe High School football team, portrayed by football icons such as Michael Vick, LaDainian Tomlinson, Brian Urlacher, Troy Polamalu, by coaches Don Shula, Jimmy Johnson, and Urban Meyer, and by fellow FSU great Deion Sanders. Corso takes his hawk mascot head off while the game's deciding play unfolds in slow-motion.

Corso also appears annually in EA Sports NCAA Football titles along with Herbstreit and play-by-play man Brad Nessler. The 2006 edition of the game begins with Corso making his mascot headgear prediction.

[edit] Other notable facts

In 2001, Corso spearheaded an effort to create a crayon completely out of soybeans.^[1]

Corso serves as honorary chairman of Coaches Curing Kids' Cancer, a charity that raises money for pediatric cancer research through youth sports teams.

On May 16, 2009, Corso suffered a minor stroke. His participation during College Gameday broadcasts has been reduced slightly while he continues to recover.^[5]

[edit] Coaching record

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[edit] References

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[edit] External links

• Lee Corso's bio at ESPN.com
• Lee Corso at the Internet Movie Database
• Transcript of KTCK-AM interview

[edit] Awards and honors

• Member, Florida State University Hall of Fame
• Member, University of Louisville Hall of Fame
• Member, Florida Sports Hall of Fame
• Member, Seminole Club of Greater Miami - Inducted into the "77 Club"

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