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Kirk Herbstreit wishes Lee Corso happy 89th birthday ahead of 29th season together on ESPN's College GameDay

IMG_6598by:Nick Kosko•08/07/24•

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Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports

Kirk Herbstreit celebrated Lee Corso’s 89th birthday with a heartfelt message Wednesday. The two will celebrate their 29th year together on College GameDay in the Fall.

The pair have been an ESPN staple for about three decades as the premier college football pregame show. Corso, who’s battled health issues over the last four years, is still a larger than life presence on the set.

You can see Herbstreit’s message to Corso below.

“Happy 89th birthday to the sunshine scooter,” Herbstreit wrote on Twitter. “A true icon for the sport of CFB & a dear friend

Back in May, Corso was in “great spirits” ahead of another college football season, per ESPN’s Rece Davis. Be our 29th season together this fall on ⁦⁦(College GameDay).⁩ So thankful for the on air lessons-the unbelievable memories-but especially you pouring into my heart as a friend!”

Corso has been working on the crew for College GameDay since 1987 and over the years became one of the iconic figures in the sport for college football fans. It was in 1993 that the program began traveling around the country from location to location. Then, in 1996, he began his tradition of wearing the mascot headgear for his picks of the week.

Prior to becoming an analyst for ESPN, Corso was a coach, with stops as the head man at Louisville, Indiana, and Northern Illinois. He was also an assistant at Navy and Maryland once his playing career at Florida State came to an end.

This year, Davis, Lee Corso, Herbstreit, Pat McAfee and the rest of the College GameDay crew will be in Dublin for Week 0 when Georgia Tech and Florida State kick the season off.

After that, they’ll be in College Station for Week 1 of the 2024 season. That game, between Notre Dame and Texas A&M, looks to be one of the marquee matchups of the year and will set the tone for what should be an incredibly exciting season on the field.