Kirk Herbstreit gives touching Lee Corso update after ESPN icon misses national championship

Kirk Herbstreit gave a shoutout to a legendary Indiana Hoosier.

After Indiana defeated Miami 27-21 in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Monday night, Herbstreit gave a shoutout to his former “College GameDay” co-host Lee Corso — a longtime Hoosiers coach — who retired from the ESPN airwaves before the season.

“Chris [Fowler] and I really want to shout out Lee Corso,” Herbstreit said on the ESPN broadcast as Indiana’s celebration began. “I talked with him earlier today. He is completely dialed in and excited about what Indiana was doing. He was picking Indiana. He knew they could pull this off and finish their season, and he said ‘Hey, don’t forget. 1979, their first bowl season, our first bowl victory as a school –1979, beat BYU.’

Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso are known friends after working on College Gameday together. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

“I said, ‘Coach, they’ll never forget that. They’ll never forget that.’ So, Coach, if you’re out there, buddy, we love you. Congratulations to you, and all of the Hoosiers, and all of your former teammates and players.”

Corso, 90, was a beloved on the ESPN airwaves for nearly 40 years and began the “College GameDay” program with Chris Fowler in 1993 before announcing his departure in April 2025.

“Absolutely,” Fowler added. “Love you, LC. He was fired by that school, but still loves Indiana. That says a lot about the man.”

Corso was the head coach at Indiana University from 1973 to ’82 and led the team to its first-ever bowl win.

What’s perhaps most interesting about the shoutout is that, not only was Corso not on ESPN airwaves, but he did not make it to the game.

Charlie Becker and Fernando Mendoza of the Indiana Hoosiers celebrate their national championship. Getty Images

Due to health and safety restrictions, Corso did not attend the CFP title game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Corso is not dealing with any new health issues, although he suffered a stroke in 2009, which resulted in some partial paralysis, but he’s mostly recovered since then.

Rather than attend the game, Corso said he intended to watch it and cheer on Indiana with his wife at home.