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College GameDay analyst Lee Corso, who has appeared on the show since its launch in 1987, announced his plans to retire in a statement released by ESPN on Thursday (April 17).
"My family and I will be forever indebted for the opportunity to be part of ESPN and College GameDay for nearly 40 years," Corso said. "I have a treasure of many friends, fond memories and some unusual experiences to take with me into retirement."
Corso, who will turn 90 on August 7, has been a staple of the iconic traveling pregame show with his headgear picks and "not so fast, my friend" catchphrase used to make a countering point with his colleagues. The former college football head coach first donned mascot headgear when he put on the Brutus Buckeye headpiece to pick Ohio State in October 1995.
Corso has gone 286-144 in his 430 selections made during the final pick, which has included wearing mascot heads and other hats, as well as dressing up as Notre Dame's Fighting Irish leprechaun, the Stanford tree and historic figures James Madison and Benjamin Franklin for nearly 30 years. The former coach suffered a stroke in 2009, which temporarily left him unable to speak, but returned to College GameDay later that year and has been on a limited traveling schedule in recent years, which included appearing at the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in Atlanta earlier this year.
"Lee Corso has developed a special connection to generations of fans through his entertaining style and iconic headgear picks," ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said. "Lee is one of the most influential and beloved figures in the history of college football and our ESPN team will celebrate his legendary career during his final College GameDay appearance this August."
Corso will make his final College GameDay appearance on August 30, which will coincide with the first full Saturday slate of the 2025 College Football season and the network said it plans to air additional programming celebrating his career in the days leading up to the live broadcast.