Erin Andrews has worked for both ESPN and Fox Sports, but Lee Corso’s College GameDay farewell transcended network rivalries.
Andrews grew up a Florida fan and camped out for GameDay when it came to Gainesville as a student. Years later, she had the opportunity to work alongside Corso during her ESPN tenure, hosting the first hour on ESPNU and serving as a features reporter on the main show until 2012.
Her connection to Corso went beyond professional. Andrews still keeps a voicemail he left when she joined Fox Sports, and her memories of working with him remain fond.
“During my time at ESPN, my relationships were really important to me with those guys,” Andrews told On3. “Coach was always so sweet. I still have his voicemail he left when I left ESPN to go to Fox. He was just a great guy. I mean, he still is a great guy. He just was somebody that is so special.”
Corso’s final GameDay appearance became a cross-network moment. Fox actually beat ESPN to airing his final headgear pick by 18 seconds, but both networks celebrated the end of his 38-year run with the show.
Andrews appreciated Fox’s decision to simulcast the moment. Fox and ESPN have been battling for college football pregame supremacy, but GameDay keeps winning with record ratings while Big Noon Kickoff can’t keep up, even after adding Dave Portnoy this season. For Fox to air Corso’s farewell meant putting rivalry aside to recognize someone who helped define college football television.
“But I think when I sat back and I watched Chris Fowler come back and sit with Kirk Herbstreit and just talk about their time together, and then you saw the Ohio State band write out Corso,” Andrews said. “He’s impacted all of our lives. If you are a massive college football fan, he is a huge part of our game. He is our game. I just thought the sendoff was so perfect, and I was really, really proud of our network for showing that as well. I just thought that was so sweet. And for somebody, I’ve played on both sides, I’ve played on ESPN and Fox, I was very proud that we did that.”
Corso spent nearly four decades at ESPN after coaching at Louisville, Indiana, and Northern Illinois. His headgear tradition became synonymous with College GameDay and college football Saturdays for generations of fans.
That’s what happens when someone becomes part of the sport itself.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.