College football’s mascot-picking scion Lee Corso has signed a two-year extension with ESPN.
Corso is a 25-year veteran with the network — all of them on ESPN’s College GameDay Built by the Home Depot (Saturday, 9 a.m. ET on ESPNU; 10 a.m. – noon ESPN). Viewers can count on his memorable end-of-show winner predictions with mascot heads (and live animals!) through 2014. Last season he made his 200th headgear pick in East Lansing, Mich.
So far, Corso is 6-2 on the season, incorporating a bevy of live animal mascots into his selections this year, much to co-host and desk mate Kirk Herbstreit’s discomfort.
Having worked with Corso since 1990, Mark Gross, ESPN senior vice president, studio production, said: “Coach is synonymous with college football and, I believe, is a big reason why it’s so popular today. He is a household name in and around the sport and attracts attention to it in a way few are able to. We’re thrilled to have him with us two more years.”
Just before heading out for this weekend’s GameDay stop at Oklahoma for the Notre Dame game (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET on ABC) and riding a five-game winning streak with his picks, Corso told Front Row, “I have been really fortunate to have worked for the same company the last 25 years and look forward to what is ahead for me on College GameDay. The show has become a Saturday morning institution and to be a part of that makes me so proud. There isn’t a better group of people to be surrounded by each week than the GameDay crew, who are like my second family.”
When asked for a preview of this weekend’s big pick, Corso would only say, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way. And maybe, a live animal.”
