ESPN has made a major change to the start of the 2025 college football season.
The massive broadcasting house has shifted its focus away from Dublin to deliver an emotional farewell for GameDay legend Lee Corso.
ESPN have shown that legendary Lee Corso is worth much to them than just broadcast views[/caption]
Corsa is an example of a brilliant broadcaster and everyone at ESPN has massive respect for him[/caption]
ESPN’s main priority is saying a proper goodbye to a man who has served them well[/caption]
While the network made a splash in 2024 by broadcasting College GameDay from Ireland for the season opener, it’s not repeating the trip this year for the Iowa State-Kansas State game.
The decision has left fans scratching their heads but it’s clear ESPN’s main priority is Corso’s upcoming retirement.
The 2024 Dublin show was a massive success attracting 1.6 million viewers, a 41% increase over the previous year’s Week 0 record.
The final hour even peaked at 2 million viewers making it the most-watched GameDay episode of the season.
But the event wasn’t without drama, with Florida State fans voicing their frustrations over Kirk Herbstreit’s comments about the Seminoles’ College Football Playoff snub.
This year, ESPN is taking a different route.
Rather than sending the crew to Dublin, Corso will make his grand final appearance when Ohio State hosts Texas in Columbus next week.
To mark the occasion, ESPN will air a special tribute, Not So Fast, My Friend: A Lee Corso Special, on Friday, August 22.
Though Corso missed the 2024 trip to Dublin, the rest of the GameDay crew, including Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, and Pat McAfee — were there.
This time, none of them will make the overseas journey. Instead, ESPN will run a two-hour College Football Countdown show from its Bristol studios, featuring hosts Chris Fowler and analysts Roddy Jones, E.J. Manuel, Heather Dinich, and Pete Thamel.
Taylor McGregor will provide live updates from Aviva Stadium ahead of the Iowa State-Kansas State game.
Skipping Dublin makes sense for ESPN as the network seems to be saving its resources for a more controlled environment in Columbus.
With Corso’s farewell taking center stage this season the focus will clearly be on his legacy rather than a trip overseas.
