Revisiting coach’s Hoosiers record, tenure

Indiana has been the Cinderella of the 2024 college football season, and as a result, ESPN’s “College GameDay” is returning to Bloomington.

Of course, among the panelists of “GameDay” is Lee Corso, who’s returning to Indiana, where he coached, for the first time since the 2017 season — Bloomington’s only other appearance on the show. Corso has been on “GameDay” since its inception in 1987.

REQUIRED READING:Location for College GameDay at Indiana has been determined

It’s hard to imagine Corso, who coached the Hoosiers from 1973-82, choosing any other team for his game prediction, especially with Bloomington earning such a rare visit from the show. (To be fair, he picked No. 2 Ohio State in the show’s other visit in 2017).

However, he’ll have to get creative with his famed headgear pick, as Indiana of course doesn’t have a mascot. The 89-year-old college football analyst is one of the most famous icons in the sport, and Bloomington will likely show a huge welcome when the show kicks off on Saturday morning.

Here’s a look back at Corso’s time as Indiana’s head coach:

Lee Corso coaching career at Indiana

Corso coached at Indiana from 1973-82, with his tenure ending five years before he became a full-time analyst on “College GameDay.”

Corso finished 9-1 at Louisville in 1972 before being hired by Indiana. He replaced John Pont, who coached at Indiana from 1965-72, after Pont left for the Northwestern job. Pont is still the only Hoosiers coach to lead them to the Rose Bowl, which they lost in 1967.

Indiana made its second-ever bowl game under Corso in 1979, which also was the Hoosiers’ first bowl victory in history. He led Indiana to beat undefeated BYU 38-37 in the 1979 Holiday Bowl. Indiana even finished No. 16 in the final AP Top 25 poll that season after finishing 8-4.

To date, it is one of only three bowl victories for the Hoosiers in 13 all-time appearances.

Corso was inducted into the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010, as he’s the program’s third-winningest coach ever. He finished his Hoosiers career with a 41-68-2 record, trailing only Bo McMillin (63-48-11) and Bill Mallory (69-77-3).

Corso also coached at Louisville from 1969-72 and Northern Illinois in 1984.

Lee Corso coaching record at Indiana

Here’s Corso’s coaching record at Indiana, including his year-by-year finish from 1973-82:

Big Ten record in parentheses

• 1973: 2-9 (0-8)
• 1974: 1-10 (1-7)
• 1975: 2-8-1 (1-6-1)
• 1976: 5-6 (4-4)
• 1977: 5-5-1 (4-3-1)
• 1978: 4-7 (3-5)
• 1979: 8-4 (5-3)
• 1980: 6-5 (3-5)
• 1981: 3-8 (3-6)
• 1982: 5-6 (4-5)