Lee Corso honored on 'College GameDay': Complete look at former Indiana coach's segments

Saturday is Lee Corso's day.

Literally, as the city of Bloomington officially designated Saturday, Oct. 26, as “Coach Lee Corso Day,” Mayor Kerry Thomson Corso revealed Saturday during ESPN’s “College GameDay.”

Required reading: Lee Corso, the 1979 Holiday Bowl GameDay reunion means “the world” to the winners of IU’s first bowl.

Saturday marks just the second time in Corso's 37 years on “GameDay” that he has returned to Bloomington, as Indiana football (7-0) is undefeated under first-year coach Curt Cignetti. Corso was honored with his return Saturday when “GameDay” showed a segment reuniting with his former players and coaches before the Hoosiers' game against Washington on Saturday.

It was an emotional scene for Corso, who fought back tears as Saturday was declared a holiday in his honor. He was surrounded by members of the Holiday Bowl-winning team that went 8-4 and had Corso's best record during his tenure at Indiana from 1973 to 1982.

The 89-year-old “GameDay” panelist also rocked a retro Indiana sweater on Saturday that was identical to the one he often wore during his coaching career with the Hoosiers.

Cignetti also told a story during his appearance on the show about how Corso sent a letter to his family when Cignetti's father, Frank Cignetti Sr., was battling cancer. Cignetti Sr. was the head coach at West Virginia and IUP from 1976-79 and 1986-2005, respectively.

“Lee sent a holy cross that he said in the letter had special healing powers and that was on (Frank Cignetti Sr.'s) dresser the entire time, from surgery through his recovery. And he beat cancer and survived for 43 more years.”

Here's a look at each of Corso's tributes on Saturday's “College GameDay”:

Lee Corso honored at College GameDay

Here's a compilation of Corso's contributions to ESPN's “College GameDay” from Saturday:

It probably won't be a surprise who Corso will pick in GameDay's game predictions when it's Indiana's turn.

This article originally appeared in the Daily Herald: Indiana honors Lee Corso during emotional 'College GameDay' segment