Indiana Football Coaches, The First Year: Welcome To The Lee Corso Show

This is the latest in a series of how Indiana football coaches fared in their first season in Bloomington.

Indiana coach Lee Corso conducts an interview after he was hired from Louisville in 1972. / Indiana University Arbutus

Indiana’s football coaching change in 1972 might have been the first indicated the modern era of college football had arrived.

John Pont, who had led the program since 1965 and to its only Rose Bowl after a 1967 Big Ten championship, departed Bloomington in a way familiar for fans who only know the sport through a 2024 context – it boiled down to a contract dispute.

Indiana’s three head coaches before Pont all resigned before their contracts were up, something rare in today’s game where coaches have financial incentives to soldier on even if they are in a losing spiral.

Athletic director Bill Orwig had a challenge. He had to find a coach who could win and who believed Indiana was serious about investing in its football program.

The man they found continues to be an iconic presence on the college football scene – though not because of his exploits in cream and crimson.

WHY CHANGE?

Pont got off to a slow start in his first two seasons, but year three in 1967 proved to be the all-time zenith for Indiana football.

The Hoosiers stormed out of the gate with an 8-0 record. Six of those wins came by a touchdown or less. The Cardiac Kids were born.

A 19-14 win over Purdue in the 1967 season finale put Indiana in a three-way tie for the Big Ten championship with the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Boilermakers.

The Hoosiers were chosen to be the Big Ten’s representative in the Rose Bowl, and the dream was finally realized.

“Some people said I was crazy when I took the Indiana job. I wonder where those people are tonight?” Pont told the Indianapolis News after the Purdue win.

The Hoosiers played respectably in a 14-3 loss to O.J. Simpson and No. 1 Southern California in Pasadena.

In 1968, Pont’s Hoosiers were 6-4. In 1969, Indiana was 4-3 when his regime was permanently side-tracked.

On Nov. 4, Indiana’s 14 Black players skipped practice. Those players felt they were not being heard about racial issues involving the team. Pont said the players could return under conditions set by the coaches (all but five of the players permanently left the team), but the damage was done.

Indiana football coach John Pont, shown during the Hoosiers' turmoil-ridden 1969 season. / Indiana University Arbutus

Indiana lost its final three games of the 1969 season and the program lost momentum.. The Hoosiers would not have another winning season under Pont.

By 1972, Indiana was in a difficult position. On one hand, Pont led Indiana to the Rose Bowl. On the other hand? Indiana was 9-23 in Pont’s 1970s seasons in Bloomington. While a 5-6 record in 1972 was his best since 1968, was it enough to commit long term in the way Pont wanted?

Indiana initially would only commit to Pont for the 1973 season, but he wanted long-term security, so he shopped around. Northwestern emerged as an option for Pont. The Wildcats, it should be noted, were only a season removed from a second-place Big Ten finish.

Feelings were strong.

“John has felt the last two weeks he was hit in the face with a wet fish,” the Indianapolis Star reported from an unnamed source close to Pont on how he felt he was treated by Indiana.

Indiana later countered with a three-year offer for Pont, but he got five years from Northwestern and took the job in Evanston on Christmas Eve.

ENTER CORSO

Indiana’s search would be an open one. One name speculated by the Indianapolis News the day after Pont left? Miami of Ohio coach Bill Mallory, who would later be interviewed by Orwig.

Mallory’s time would come, but one hot name on the coaching carousel was Louisville boss Lee Corso. The Cardinals, then a “mid-major” playing in the Missouri Valley Conference, came to national prominence under Corso.

He compiled a 28-11-3 record and led Louisville to its first-ever national ranking during a 9-1 season in 1972. Moreover, Louisville’s attendance went from 6,500 per game to 20,000 under Corso – a big point of interest for chronically attendance-starved Indiana.

Corso, 37, was already connected with Big Ten openings. He interviewed at both Michigan State and Purdue. He wowed Indiana with his out-going personality, his ability to unite a locker room and his success. Corso was hired on Jan. 7.

YEAR ONE

Corso, who played at Florida State and made his way through the coaching ranks in the South, had never seen Indiana play and had never watched a Big Ten game in person.

“I don’t know what it takes to win a Big 10 championship, but I think it will be an advantage. I’ll be loose. If you’re psychologically worried about an opponent, you can’t do your best,” Corso told the Indianapolis News in January 1973.

Corso also stressed recruiting talent, and while he was initially satisfied with what he had coming into 1973, it became clear the Hoosiers were in no position to contend.

A contemplative Lee Corso is photographed in the locker room during the 1973 season. / Indiana University Arbutus

The Hoosiers showed halting promise to start 1973. Respectable losses to Illinois and Arizona were followed by wins over Kentucky and a 28-14 road win over No. 20 West Virginia, coached by Bobby Bowden.

It was the high point of Corso’s first year. Indiana would not win again. One-possession losses to Northwestern, Michigan State and Purdue in the final three weeks of the season robbed Indiana of a possible five-win season.

But Corso was not allowing fans to focus on the losing. Then, as now, Corso was quick with a quip. During an Indianapolis Press Club question-and-answer session in October before Indiana played No. 1 Ohio State, Corso was asked if the Hoosiers would do anything different defensively.

“Yeah, we’ll try to use a few extra players,” Corso jested.

Corso’s quick wit would prove to be life-altering after his coaching days ended. Corso became far more famous as a pundit on ESPN’s GameDay program than he ever was as a coach.

In 1987, he was hired by ESPN to serve as an analyst on its new pre-game show. The show rapidly gained popularity and began visiting college campuses in 1993. Corso was a big reason the show has become a wildly popular phenomenon.

Leaning into his out-going personality, Corso provided entertaining analysis and has famously adorned the head piece of the mascot of the team he picked to win the game at the site GameDay visited.

Corso is still on the show at age 88. An ESPN legend, his Indiana exploits don’t feature as prominently on his resume, but he would eventually win in Bloomington.

Related stories on Indiana football

• FIRST-YEAR COACHES, CLYDE SMITH: Clyde Smith had the unenviable task of following program legend Bo McMillin. CLICK HERE.

• FIRST-YEAR COACHES, BERNIE CRIMMINS: Bernie Crimmins was the hot name from Notre Dame, but the Hoosiers never lifted off under his leadership. CLICK HERE.

• FIRST-YEAR COACHES, PHIL DICKENS & BOB HICKS: Phil Dickens was hired in 1957 ... and then never coached a game. Big Ten recruiting violations put Bob Hicks in place as "coach-in-charge" for one rough season. CLICK HERE.

• FIRST-YEAR COACHES, PHIL DICKENS, PART DEUX: Phil Dickens finally takes charge. Winning follows, but it didn't last as the NCAA was on the prowl to give Indiana one of its most severe sanctions in its history. CLICK HERE.

• FIRST-YEAR COACHES, JOHN PONT: The ex-Miami of Ohio and Yale coach got a literal black eye when he took the Indiana job and got a metaphorical one in his first season, but it would get better. CLICK HERE.