Kirk Herbstreit shares College GameDay cast's goodbye toast to Lee Corso

After roughly four decades on college football’s premier Saturday pregame show, Lee Corso‘s final appearance on ESPN‘s College GameDay will be this Saturday. It comes ahead of the season-opener between No. 1 Texas and No. 3 Ohio State in Columbus.

But before what will undoubtedly be a three-hour tribute to Corso’s legendary career on Saturday morning, the College GameDay cast and crew took a moment to celebrate the 90-year-old Corso at a private dinner Thursday night in Columbus. That included a special toast to the man of the weekend from longtime ESPN colleague Kirk Herbstreit.

“The weekend is going to be fun. It’s the opening weekend of college football, it’s Lee Corso’s final appearance on College GameDay. It’s going to be a blast. We’re going to celebrate this guy,” Herbstreit said. “And I think every person in this room and everybody you’ve ever worked with, I think what’s unique is people see you with the headgear and all the silly stuff you do. But I think what we see is the smile every Friday meeting.

“Whether you’re the makeup artist or Rece Davis and everybody in between, you just lightened everybody up. You lifted everybody up. And you’ve done that, I’m sure as a coach, but our experience with you, for me over the last 30 years, it’s like, I’ve never seen you have a bad day. If you’re having a bad day, you never really showed you’re having a bad day. You’re always positive, and you’re the backbone of what this show has been about. We’re going to celebrate the way you should be, and we just want to honor you tonight and say you’re the man, we love you.”

Herbstreit’s speech was followed by a round of “Here here, Lee Corso.” Check out the heartfelt moment here:

ESPN released one-hour special honoring Lee Corso before final College GameDay appearance

Ahead of Lee Corso‘s farewell appearance after nearly four decades on ESPN’s College GameDay, ESPN honored the legendary broadcaster with a new one-hour special commemorating his more than 75 years as a college football icon. The special, titled “Not So Fast, My Friend: A Lee Corso Special,” aired last Friday, Aug. 22, with a re-airing on Aug. 23.

Corso, who turned 90 years old on Aug. 7, will make his final headgear pick of his illustrious 38-year career on College GameDay on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. That comes ahead of a much-anticipated season opener between Ohio State and Texas.

ESPN’s primetime special highlights Corso’s life, including his “larger-than-life personality and the immeasurable impact” he’s had on college football as a player, coach and broadcaster. The special will feature appearances from College GameDay personalities past and present, as Rece Davis, Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban, Tim Brando, Chris Fallica, Maria Taylor and more share their personal memories of working alongside Corso.

Other contributors include some iconic names in football. NFL quarterback Drew Brees, former Navy legend Darryl Hill, actor Ken Jeong, broadcaster Tom Jackson, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, track and field legend Carl Lewis, Stanford general manager and alum Andrew Luck, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and famed broadcaster Mike Tirico are all set to appear, according to ESPN’s release.