Hoosiers Now

Todd’s Take: Bring ESPN College GameDay, Lee Corso Back To Indiana

Indiana’s football success has had all kinds of positive effects. A visit from ESPN GameDay would be the cherry on the sundae.

Todd Golden

Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit joke around during the live broadcast of ESPN College GameDay at Sundance Square in 2015.
Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit joke around during the live broadcast of ESPN College GameDay at Sundance Square in 2015. / Ray Carlin-Imagn Images
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – All of the Indiana football superlatives have been written about repeatedly by now, but if you’re an Indiana fan, I doubt you get tired of reading them.

Indiana is 6-0 for the first time since 1967. Indiana is at the top of the Big Ten by itself (for the moment) with a 3-0 record. Indiana is ranked 18th in the Associated Press Top 25 and is included in the poll in consecutive weeks for the first time since 2020. Indiana’s first season with Curt Cignetti in-charge has been a runaway success.

Cignetti has done a good job keeping the Hoosiers’ focus on the field and that determination has paid off in a near-unprecedented way. So do the Hoosiers need the validation of outside attention? Probably not.

But it’s still fun for the rest of us, isn’t it?

National TV appearances for the games will be forthcoming if the Hoosiers keep winning. Indiana’s next game against Nebraska on Oct. 19 will be in the FOX Big Noon Kickoff time slot.

It is not confirmed yet whether the Big Noon Kickoff studio show will also be coming to Bloomington. Once in a while, FOX does the studio show elsewhere from its Big Noon Kickoff game site. That will happen this Saturday when Washington-Iowa is the Big Noon Kickoff game, but the Big Noon Kickoff show will be in Provo, Utah.

A Big Noon Kickoff show appearance in Bloomington would be great. Any national attention on the Indiana program just serves to generate more interest, and in theory, more NIL money and greater financial investment in Indiana football.

However, the college studio show gold standard is ESPN’s College GameDay.

The show debuted in 1987 and made the inspired choice to host the show at campus sites in 1993. That helped turn the show into a phenomenon. It has become as much a part of college football culture as Homecoming, halftime band performances and bowl games. It is raucous. It handles the sport with the right blend of information, storytelling and humor. It is iconic.

The show also serves as a sort of stamp of validation. When College GameDay comes to town? You know you’ve done something special.

It’s time for the College GameDay circus to come to Bloomington. The Hoosiers have earned that right.

Indiana is just the kind of Cinderella story that College GameDay likes to put a spotlight on. A perennial loser transformed into a winner is a timeless storyline.

One College GameDay personality, former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee, mentioned the possibility on his show recently.

“Gotta be a GameDay watch going on,” said McAfee on Oct. 4.

Indiana has hosted College GameDay once before. In 2017, there was a Thursday night show hosted in Bloomington before the season opener against Ohio State. It was hosted inside Memorial Stadium, so the crazy crowd hype that usually surrounds the show was absent. There was no guest picker. It was GameDay lite and it didn’t capture the usual experience of the event, which traditionally airs on Saturday.

Let’s have the true College GameDay come to town. The buzz among students would be off the charts. ESPN could host the show outside Memorial Stadium or elsewhere on Indiana’s picturesque campus. Maybe a portion of Kirkwood Avenue could be used? A street full of crazy college football fans would be a very cool visual.

Curt Cignetti is another draw for College GameDay. He knows how to get in the spirit of things.

When the Pat McAfee Show came to James Madison in 2023, he appeared on the set and made some waves by riling the JMU crowd to chant against the NCAA. At the time, the NCAA was holding JMU to a two-year transitional period that could have kept the Dukes out of a bowl game. JMU made a bowl anyway as the amount of bowl slots weren’t filled by bowl eligible teams.

It would not be likely that Cignetti could appear on-set for a Noon game, but if it was a late afternoon or night kickoff? Who knows? I’m sure Cignetti would not miss the chance to promote his program.

There’s plenty of guest pickers to choose from that either have Indiana University ties or in-state ones. Choose any number of former Indiana athletes. Antwaan Randle El? Victor Oladipo? Lilly King?

Among non-IU famous folks, Peyton Manning is an ESPN personality and would certainly be a popular choice in Indiana.

It would be very cool if Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark came into what was once enemy territory to guest pick.

John Mellencamp doesn’t strike me as a College GameDay kind of guy, but he would be popularly received.

All of the above would make the experience great, but the best part of a College GameDay visit would be a chance to bring former Indiana football coach Lee Corso back to Bloomington.

Corso has been on College GameDay from the beginning, and the fame he’s achieved from being on the show eclipses his coaching career, including his Indiana tenure from 1973-82.

One great thing that did occur during GameDay’s previous Bloomington appearance was the chance for Corso to mix with his former players, the "Corso Men". He got tearful recalling the touchdown pass his son Steve caught against Kentucky in 1980.

Now 89, Corso has had recent health problems. He missed the last College GameDay show at California last Saturday and will likely miss it again this week when the show is hosted at Oregon for the Ohio State-Oregon game.

Long-time College GameDay partner Kirk Herbstreit gave an update on Corso via an Instagram live post Saturday. He said Corso was sick during the week, but was doing OK. Herbstreit said with the distance to Eugene, Ore., Corso would likely miss that show too, but should return with friendlier geography.

A Corso appearance at Indiana would be emotional. Indiana fans could reciprocate their own love of Corso, whether it’s tied to his Indiana past, or, to express appreciation for what Corso has done to add to the culture of college football via his outgoing personality.

Who knows? If he picked Indiana, he could put on the old Mr. Hoosier Pride head that was very briefly (and not very popularly) used as an Indiana mascot during Corso’s best season in 1979? It’s tattered, but it still exists.

The first opportunity for Indiana to host College GameDay would be the Nebraska game on Oct. 19, but there are hurdles to clear.

FOX being here for Big Noon Kickoff is one of them, though both studio shows were at Michigan on Sept. 7 when the Wolverines hosted Texas.

The Big Ten itself is not an ESPN media property anymore. That doesn’t stop ESPN from going to Big Ten sites. They’re headed to Eugene this coming weekend, but if there is an SEC, ACC or Big 12 game that’s equal or superior in stature, logic would dictate that ESPN chooses one of its own.

The Oct. 19 weekend has some really strong games. Alabama-Tennessee might be a College Football Playoff elimination game, but the big one is Georgia’s trip to Texas.

Herbstreit also said in his Instagram live post, “you would think we would be at Georgia-Texas”, though that has not yet been determined.

If College GameDay isn’t here on Oct. 19, and assuming Indiana keeps winning, I can be patient. The Oct. 26 home game against Washington is another opportunity. Indiana’s home game against Michigan on Nov. 9 is another obvious candidate.

However it happens, Indiana has earned the chance to have College GameDay in Bloomington. Bring it for the long-suffering fans. Bring it to showcase Cignetti to a wider audience. Bring it so Corso can enjoy winning Indiana football and so the fans can show appreciation for him.

Just bring it.

Related stories on Indiana football

  • HOW INDIANA AND THE REST OF THE BIG TEN SCHEDULES COMPARE: How does Indiana's remaining slate matchup with its Big Ten rivals? CLICK HERE.
  • HOOSIERS ON SI REVISITS PRESEASON PREDICTIONS: Look back on what Jack Ankony and Todd Golden got right and what they got wrong before the season began. CLICK HERE.
  • CIGNETTI LEANS ON GROUP OF TALENT TO WIN: Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti has leaned into Group Of Five transfers to form his core and it has paid off. CLICK HERE.
  • STANDOUT STATS: Indiana has reached or is on-pace to reach several historical milestones for the program. CLICK HERE.
  • ROURKE WINS BIG TEN HONOR AGAIN: Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke won the Big Ten co-Offensive Player of the Week honors. CLICK HERE.
  • INDIANA MOVES TO NO. 18: Indiana is in a three-way tie for 18th in the latest Associated Press football poll. CLICK HERE.
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Todd Golden
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