Lee Corso received sendoffs from everywhere before his last ESPN College GameDay appearance–including Southwest Airlines.
On Saturday, Corso ended his storied broadcasting career in classic fashion, donning the Brutus Buckeye headgear and picking Ohio State to beat Texas live from the GameDay set at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. A former college football head coach, Corso, 90, spent 38 years at ESPN.
During that time, he became a beloved institution of the sport. Corso’s final broadcast Saturday was emotional all-around, as fans, coaches, players and colleagues all saluted the “Sunshine Scooter.”
The tributes began long before Saturday though, and on Friday, as Corso prepared to travel to Ohio, he was surprised at the gate by a Southwest Airlines agent.
A standing ovation at the airport
Video of the Southwest gate agent honoring Corso has been circulating online, thanks to another passenger who filmed the touching exchange.
In the clip below, you can see the agent embrace Corso, who received a standing ovation from his fellow passengers and other bystanders.
Just saw this awesome tribute to Lee Corso by a @SouthwestAir gate agent. Wow. Video is not mine. @fishsauce0515 posted the video. @CollegeGameDay pic.twitter.com/FqMBx5MuFw
— Seth Swindle (@sethswindle) August 28, 2025
“On November 18th, 2021, I saw Coach sitting in the Southwest area, and I asked him to give me this picture, and I have it right here,” the gate attendant said. “I’m going to present this to him, so that he always has it as a remembrance that he is boarding his last flight with Southwest to Columbus for ‘College GameDay.’ Coach started with ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ in October 1996, Lee Corso made his first headgear pick. A tradition he is famous for, and a game at Ohio Stadium.
“Coach has been married to his wife, Betsy, since 1957. He has four kids and ten grandchildren. Coach’s words on ‘College GameDay’ are ‘not so fast, my friend.’ On behalf of us here at Southwest, we’d like to recognize coach, and if you’d please stand and give him a round of applause for everything he’s done for us.”
A lasting legacy
Corso’s presence on GameDay will be missed in so many ways. When he had to miss some of the weekly broadcasts in recent years due to health reasons, his absence was noticeable; it’s tough to think about it being permanent.
In fitting fashion, Corso went out a winner, nailing his final headgear pick as Ohio State went on to beat Texas 14-7.
“This is one of the easiest picks I’ve ever made. Texas is loaded. Texas is number one. They have a Manning at quarterback. Poor, Ohio State. They ain’t got a chance. Give me my first love!” Corso said before donning the Brutus head.
All-time, Corso made Ohio State his headgear pick 46 times, with the Buckeyes going 32-14 in those games.
