ESPN’S Lee Corso To Receive 2026 AFCA Amos Alonzo Stagg Award
August 26, 2025
Longtime ESPN College GameDay personality and former Louisville and Indiana head coach Lee Corso will receive the AFCA’s 2026 Amos Alonzo Stagg Award. The award is given to those “whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests in football.” Corso will be honored during the 2026 AFCA Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina on January 11.
One of the most recognized faces in college football, Corso began his career at ESPN in 1987 as a contributor before joining as a full-time analyst in 1989 on the College GameDay set. He built his reputation over the years when he started using mascot headgear to make his final game selections at the end of each show. What he started on October 5, 1996, when he used Brutus Buckeye’s mascot head to pick Ohio State over Penn State, became a weekly tradition in homes across the country each Saturday during the college football season.
Corso joined ESPN after 28 years as a college and professional coach. He began his coaching career in 1958 as a graduate assistant at Florida State after his playing days were over. Corso earned four varsity letters in both football and baseball for the Seminoles and earned the nickname “Sunshine Scooter” for his speed on the football field. He held the FSU school record for career interceptions with 14 for almost 20 years.
Corso earned his first full-time coaching job as the quarterbacks coach at Maryland in 1959. After seven seasons at Maryland, Corso was the defensive backs coach at Navy from 1966-68 before being named head coach at Louisville in 1969. In his four seasons, Corso led the Cardinals to 28 victories, two Missouri Valley Conference titles and the program’s first bowl game appearance since 1958. In 1973, Corso became the head coach at Indiana and guided the Hoosiers to their first bowl victory in 75 years with a win over BYU in the 1979 Holiday Bowl. He would stay at Indiana for 10 seasons before taking the Northern Illinois head coaching job in 1984. Corso was the head coach of the Orlando Renegades of the United States Football League in 1985 before the league suspended operations in 1986.
Corso is a member of the Florida State, Louisville and Indiana athletic Halls of Fame, along with the Florida Sports and Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2010, the National College Football Awards Association honored him with the Contributions to College Football Award. Corso is a Life Member of the AFCA, having been a member for 65 years.
The Award
The Amos Alonzo Stagg Award is given to the “individual, group or institution whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests of football.” Its purpose is “to perpetuate the example and influence of Amos Alonzo Stagg.”
The award is named in honor of a man who was instrumental in founding the AFCA in the 1920s. He is considered one of the great innovators and motivating forces in the early development of the game of football. The plaque given to each recipient is a replica of the one given to Stagg at the 1939 AFCA Convention in tribute to his 50 years of service to football.
Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg began his coaching career at the School of Christian Workers, now Springfield (Mass.) College, after graduating from Yale University in 1888.
Stagg also served as head coach at Chicago (1892-1932) and College of the Pacific (1933-1946). His 41 seasons at Chicago is one of the longest head coaching tenures in the history of the college game.
Among the innovations credited to Stagg are the tackling dummy, the huddle, the reverse play, man in motion, knit pants, numbering plays and players, and the awarding of letters.
A long-time AFCA member, Stagg was the Association’s 1943 Coach of the Year.
According to NCAA records, Stagg’s 57-year record as a college head coach is 314-199-35. He was 84 years old when he ended his coaching career at Pacific in 1946. He died in 1965 at the age of 103.
Past Amos Alonzo Stagg Award Winners:
1940 Donald Herring, Jr., (Princeton player) and family 1983 Paul W. “Bear” Bryant, Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Alabama
1941 William H. Cowell (posthumously), New Hampshire 1984 Charles B. “Bud” Wilkinson, Oklahoma
1946 Grantland Rice, sportswriter 1985 Duffy Daugherty, Michigan State
1947 William A. Alexander, Georgia Tech 1986 Woody Hayes, Denison, Miami (Ohio), Ohio State
1948 Gilmour Dobie, North Dakota State, Washington, Navy, Cornell, Boston College 1987 Field Scovell, Cotton Bowl
Glenn S. “Pop” Warner, Georgia, Cornell, Carlisle, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Temple 1988 G. Herbert McCracken, Allegheny, Lafayette
Robert C. Zuppke, Illinois 1989 David Nelson, Delaware
1949 Richard C. Harlow, Penn State, Colgate, Western Maryland, Harvard 1990 Len Casanova, Oregon
1950 No award given 1991 Bob Blackman, Denver, Dartmouth, Illinois, Cornell
1951 DeOrmond “Tuss” McLaughry, Westminster, Amherst, Brown, Dartmouth 1992 Charles McClendon, LSU
1952 A.N. “Bo” McMillin, Indiana 1993 Keith Jackson, ABC-TV
1953 Lou Little, Georgetown, Columbia 1994 Bob Devaney, Nebraska, Wyoming
1954 Dana X. Bible, Mississippi College, LSU, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Texas 1995 John Merritt, Jackson State, Tennessee State
1955 Joseph J. Tomlin, founder, Pop Warner Football 1996 Chuck Neinas, College Football Association
1956 No award given 1997 Ara Parseghian, Miami (Ohio), Northwestern, Notre Dame
1957 Gen. Robert R. Neyland, Tennessee 1998 Bob Reade, Augustana (Ill.)
1958 Bernie Bierman, Mississippi A&M, Tulane, Minnesota 1999 Bo Schembechler, Miami (Ohio), Michigan
1959 Dr. John W. Wilce, Ohio State 2000 Tom Osborne, Nebraska
1960 Harvey J. Harman, Haverford, University of the South, Pennsylvania, Rutgers 2001 Vince Dooley, Georgia
1961 Ray Eliot, Illinois 2002 Joe Paterno, Penn State
1962 E.E. “Tad” Wieman, Michigan, Princeton, Maine 2003 LaVell Edwards, Brigham Young
1963 Andrew Kerr, Stanford, Washington & Jefferson, Colgate, Lebanon Valley 2004 Ron Schipper, Central (Iowa)
1964 Don Faurot, Missouri 2005 Hayden Fry, North Texas, SMU, Iowa
1965 Harry Stuhldreher, Wisconsin 2006 Grant Teaff, McMurry, Angelo State, Baylor
1966 Bernie H. Moore, LSU 2007 Bill Curry, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Kentucky
1967 Jess Neely, Southwestern, Clemson, Rice 2008 Bill Walsh, San Francisco 49ers, Stanford
1968 Abe Martin, TCU 2009 John Gagliardi, Carroll (Mont.), St. John’s (Minn.)
1969 Charles A. “Rip” Engle, Brown, Penn State 2010 Darrell Royal, Mississippi State, Washington, Texas
1970 Lynn “Pappy” Waldorf, Syracuse, Oklahoma City, Kansas, Oklahoma A&M, Kansas State, Northwestern, California 2011 Bobby Bowden, Samford, West Virginia, Florida State
1971 Bill Murray, Delaware, Duke 2012 Fisher DeBerry, Air Force
1972 Jack Curtice, Stanford 2013 Frosty Westering, Parsons, Lea College, Pacific Lutheran
1973 Lloyd Jordan, Amherst, Harvard 2014 R.C. Slocum, Texas A&M
1974 Alonzo S. “Jake” Gaither, Florida A&M 2015 Ken Hatfield, Air Force, Arkansas, Clemson, Rice
1975 Gerald B. Zornow, business executive 2016 John Cooper, Tulsa, Arizona State, Ohio State
1976 No award given 2017 Don Nehlen, Bowling Green, West Virginia
1977 Floyd “Ben” Schwartzwalder, Muhlenberg, Syracuse 2018 Frank Broyles, Missouri, Arkansas
1978 Tom Hamilton, Navy, Pittsburgh 2019 Marv Levy, Buffalo Bills
1979 H.O. “Fritz” Crisler, Minnesota, Princeton, Michigan 2020 Dick Tomey, Arizona, Hawaii, San Jose State
1980 No award given 2022 Mel Tjeerdsma, Austin College, Northwest Missouri State
1981 Fred Russell, sportswriter 2023 Roy Kidd, Eastern Kentucky
1982 Eddie Robinson, Grambling 2024 Larry Kehres, Mount Union
2025 Bob Ford, Albany
For more information about the AFCA, visit www.AFCA.com. For more interesting articles, check out The Insider and subscribe to our weekly email.
If you are interested in more in-depth articles and videos, please become an AFCA member. You can find out more information about membership and specific member benefits on the AFCA Membership Overview page. If you are ready to join, please fill out the AFCA Membership Application.
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Longtime ESPN College GameDay personality and former Louisville and Indiana head coach Lee Corso will receive the AFCA’s 2026 Amos Alonzo Stagg Award. The award is given to those “whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests in football.” Corso will be honored during the 2026 AFCA Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina on January 11.
One of the most recognized faces in college football, Corso began his career at ESPN in 1987 as a contributor before joining as a full-time analyst in 1989 on the College GameDay set. He built his reputation over the years when he started using mascot headgear to make his final game selections at the end of each show. What he started on October 5, 1996, when he used Brutus Buckeye’s mascot head to pick Ohio State over Penn State, became a weekly tradition in homes across the country each Saturday during the college football season.
Corso joined ESPN after 28 years as a college and professional coach. He began his coaching career in 1958 as a graduate assistant at Florida State after his playing days were over. Corso earned four varsity letters in both football and baseball for the Seminoles and earned the nickname “Sunshine Scooter” for his speed on the football field. He held the FSU school record for career interceptions with 14 for almost 20 years.
Corso earned his first full-time coaching job as the quarterbacks coach at Maryland in 1959. After seven seasons at Maryland, Corso was the defensive backs coach at Navy from 1966-68 before being named head coach at Louisville in 1969. In his four seasons, Corso led the Cardinals to 28 victories, two Missouri Valley Conference titles and the program’s first bowl game appearance since 1958. In 1973, Corso became the head coach at Indiana and guided the Hoosiers to their first bowl victory in 75 years with a win over BYU in the 1979 Holiday Bowl. He would stay at Indiana for 10 seasons before taking the Northern Illinois head coaching job in 1984. Corso was the head coach of the Orlando Renegades of the United States Football League in 1985 before the league suspended operations in 1986.
Corso is a member of the Florida State, Louisville and Indiana athletic Halls of Fame, along with the Florida Sports and Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2010, the National College Football Awards Association honored him with the Contributions to College Football Award. Corso is a Life Member of the AFCA, having been a member for 65 years.
The Award
The Amos Alonzo Stagg Award is given to the “individual, group or institution whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests of football.” Its purpose is “to perpetuate the example and influence of Amos Alonzo Stagg.”
The award is named in honor of a man who was instrumental in founding the AFCA in the 1920s. He is considered one of the great innovators and motivating forces in the early development of the game of football. The plaque given to each recipient is a replica of the one given to Stagg at the 1939 AFCA Convention in tribute to his 50 years of service to football.
Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg began his coaching career at the School of Christian Workers, now Springfield (Mass.) College, after graduating from Yale University in 1888.
Stagg also served as head coach at Chicago (1892-1932) and College of the Pacific (1933-1946). His 41 seasons at Chicago is one of the longest head coaching tenures in the history of the college game.
Among the innovations credited to Stagg are the tackling dummy, the huddle, the reverse play, man in motion, knit pants, numbering plays and players, and the awarding of letters.
A long-time AFCA member, Stagg was the Association’s 1943 Coach of the Year.
According to NCAA records, Stagg’s 57-year record as a college head coach is 314-199-35. He was 84 years old when he ended his coaching career at Pacific in 1946. He died in 1965 at the age of 103.
Past Amos Alonzo Stagg Award Winners:
1940 Donald Herring, Jr., (Princeton player) and family 1983 Paul W. “Bear” Bryant, Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Alabama
1941 William H. Cowell (posthumously), New Hampshire 1984 Charles B. “Bud” Wilkinson, Oklahoma
1946 Grantland Rice, sportswriter 1985 Duffy Daugherty, Michigan State
1947 William A. Alexander, Georgia Tech 1986 Woody Hayes, Denison, Miami (Ohio), Ohio State
1948 Gilmour Dobie, North Dakota State, Washington, Navy, Cornell, Boston College 1987 Field Scovell, Cotton Bowl
Glenn S. “Pop” Warner, Georgia, Cornell, Carlisle, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Temple 1988 G. Herbert McCracken, Allegheny, Lafayette
Robert C. Zuppke, Illinois 1989 David Nelson, Delaware
1949 Richard C. Harlow, Penn State, Colgate, Western Maryland, Harvard 1990 Len Casanova, Oregon
1950 No award given 1991 Bob Blackman, Denver, Dartmouth, Illinois, Cornell
1951 DeOrmond “Tuss” McLaughry, Westminster, Amherst, Brown, Dartmouth 1992 Charles McClendon, LSU
1952 A.N. “Bo” McMillin, Indiana 1993 Keith Jackson, ABC-TV
1953 Lou Little, Georgetown, Columbia 1994 Bob Devaney, Nebraska, Wyoming
1954 Dana X. Bible, Mississippi College, LSU, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Texas 1995 John Merritt, Jackson State, Tennessee State
1955 Joseph J. Tomlin, founder, Pop Warner Football 1996 Chuck Neinas, College Football Association
1956 No award given 1997 Ara Parseghian, Miami (Ohio), Northwestern, Notre Dame
1957 Gen. Robert R. Neyland, Tennessee 1998 Bob Reade, Augustana (Ill.)
1958 Bernie Bierman, Mississippi A&M, Tulane, Minnesota 1999 Bo Schembechler, Miami (Ohio), Michigan
1959 Dr. John W. Wilce, Ohio State 2000 Tom Osborne, Nebraska
1960 Harvey J. Harman, Haverford, University of the South, Pennsylvania, Rutgers 2001 Vince Dooley, Georgia
1961 Ray Eliot, Illinois 2002 Joe Paterno, Penn State
1962 E.E. “Tad” Wieman, Michigan, Princeton, Maine 2003 LaVell Edwards, Brigham Young
1963 Andrew Kerr, Stanford, Washington & Jefferson, Colgate, Lebanon Valley 2004 Ron Schipper, Central (Iowa)
1964 Don Faurot, Missouri 2005 Hayden Fry, North Texas, SMU, Iowa
1965 Harry Stuhldreher, Wisconsin 2006 Grant Teaff, McMurry, Angelo State, Baylor
1966 Bernie H. Moore, LSU 2007 Bill Curry, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Kentucky
1967 Jess Neely, Southwestern, Clemson, Rice 2008 Bill Walsh, San Francisco 49ers, Stanford
1968 Abe Martin, TCU 2009 John Gagliardi, Carroll (Mont.), St. John’s (Minn.)
1969 Charles A. “Rip” Engle, Brown, Penn State 2010 Darrell Royal, Mississippi State, Washington, Texas
1970 Lynn “Pappy” Waldorf, Syracuse, Oklahoma City, Kansas, Oklahoma A&M, Kansas State, Northwestern, California 2011 Bobby Bowden, Samford, West Virginia, Florida State
1971 Bill Murray, Delaware, Duke 2012 Fisher DeBerry, Air Force
1972 Jack Curtice, Stanford 2013 Frosty Westering, Parsons, Lea College, Pacific Lutheran
1973 Lloyd Jordan, Amherst, Harvard 2014 R.C. Slocum, Texas A&M
1974 Alonzo S. “Jake” Gaither, Florida A&M 2015 Ken Hatfield, Air Force, Arkansas, Clemson, Rice
1975 Gerald B. Zornow, business executive 2016 John Cooper, Tulsa, Arizona State, Ohio State
1976 No award given 2017 Don Nehlen, Bowling Green, West Virginia
1977 Floyd “Ben” Schwartzwalder, Muhlenberg, Syracuse 2018 Frank Broyles, Missouri, Arkansas
1978 Tom Hamilton, Navy, Pittsburgh 2019 Marv Levy, Buffalo Bills
1979 H.O. “Fritz” Crisler, Minnesota, Princeton, Michigan 2020 Dick Tomey, Arizona, Hawaii, San Jose State
1980 No award given 2022 Mel Tjeerdsma, Austin College, Northwest Missouri State
1981 Fred Russell, sportswriter 2023 Roy Kidd, Eastern Kentucky
1982 Eddie Robinson, Grambling 2024 Larry Kehres, Mount Union
2025 Bob Ford, Albany
For more information about the AFCA, visit www.AFCA.com. For more interesting articles, check out The Insider and subscribe to our weekly email.
If you are interested in more in-depth articles and videos, please become an AFCA member. You can find out more information about membership and specific member benefits on the AFCA Membership Overview page. If you are ready to join, please fill out the AFCA Membership Application.
