The first coach to lead Indiana to a bowl game win and the man who is known simply as "Coach," has his own day in Bloomington. On ESPN College GameDay, Lee Corso was honored by Bloomington's Mayor, Kerry Thomson, with 'Coach Lee Corso Day.'
The beloved College GameDay cast member who repeatedly dons the headgear of a college mascot and brings the largest amount of charm possible to a Saturday morning was Indiana's head coach for a decade, from 1973 until 1982.
Ahead of the official naming of 'Coach Lee Corso Day,' ESPN rolled a segment where Corso reconnected with some of his former players, assistants, and dearest friends.
The emotion that could be seen behind Corso's eyes and the love that was visibly apparent from his former players spilled over as the segment played out.
"It's love. We love him and then we know that he loves us."
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 26, 2024
Coach Corso's former players and coaches share how much he means to them 🥹 pic.twitter.com/GbaU8Vf29D
Corso led the Hoosiers to their first-ever bowl game victory when the team took down the BYU Cougars in the 1979 Holiday Bowl. He won 41 games with the Hoosiers and
The Week 9 episode of ESPN College GameDay was filled to the brim with emotion and love for Corso. The Hoosiers' current head coach, Curt Cignetti, even shared a story of Corso sending his family a cross when Cignetti's father was sick with cancer and that cross standing over his father as he fought, and beat, the disease.
Corso's love for those around him was so clear and so meaningful as the three-hour show continued to unfold. Whether it was his current coworkers like Rece Davis and Kirk Herbstreit or the first female coach he hired as the Director of Academics at Indiana, the love for Coach was boundless.