If you've watched even just a few college football games since the 1990s, chances are, you've heard some analysis from Lee Corso.
Corso has been on ESPN's hit college football pregame show, "College GameDay," since 1987, the year it was created. Prior to then, he was the head football coach at various big schools, including Louisville, Indiana and Northern Illinois, having played at Florida State in his own football career.
From his famous "headgear picks" to other viral moments on ESPN, Corso is as ingrained in college football culture as any analyst in the history of the sport. He also happens to have a fairly intriguing background, from parents who were Italian immigrants, to his wife of nearly 70 years.
Here's what to know about Corso's family tree.
MORE: Inside the Manning football family tree: How Arch Manning is related to Peyton and Eli
Lee Corso wife: Betsy Youngblood
Lee Corso's wife is Betsy Youngblood. The two have been married for nearly 70 years, having tied the knot back in 1957, when Corso was in his early 20s. Since then, they've had four children and 10 grandchildren.
Youngblood has been by Corso's side throughout his coaching and media journeys, as well as aiding Corso through his stroke recovery in 2009. While she's mostly remained out of the spotlight, Corso did speak about his relationship with Youngblood at the 2025 ESPYs.
"My wife, Betsy, and I have been married for 69 years, and I just wanted to thank her for loving me and allowing me to love her for all those years," Corso said following a tribute at the ESPYs.
LEE CORSO FOREVER ❤️ @CollegeGameDay | @ESPYS pic.twitter.com/78kjwFV82Y
— ESPN (@espn) July 17, 2025
MORE: The best two-way players in NFL history
Lee Corso sons
Lee Corso and Betsy Youngblood have four kids, three of which are sons.
Dan Corso
Dan Corso is one of Lee's sons. Like his father, Dan has a job in the sports world as the president of the Atlanta Sports Council, which involves attracting sports events to the city and making Atlanta a destination for sporting events.
According to his Atlanta Sports Council site, during Corso's tenure with the organization, it has been named Sports Commission of the Year by the National Association of Sports Commissions four times. Corso was named one of the "Atlanta Business Chronicle’s" most admired CEO’s in 2024.
In 2025, when ESPN announced that Ohio State vs. Texas in Week 1 of the new college football season would be Corso's final broadcast, Dan told the Tallahassee Democrat that he was excited for the game, but wished ESPN chose Florida State's matchup against Alabama instead.
"He was consistent with his love for FSU and the pageantry and tradition of college football, and on a weekly basis for 38 years reminded everyone that college football is a great form of entertainment," Dan Corso told the Tallahassee Democrat. "As a family of Seminoles, yes, it was disappointing, but at the same time, it will be fun to watch his last GameDay and headgear in Columbus."
Dan, an FSU alum and one of 12 in the entire family, also reflected on Lee's preparation for broadcasts over decades.
"Lots of preparation, discussion, production meetings with producers and other GameDay talent," Dan Corso told the Tallahassee Democrat. "And early bedtime on Friday night, definitely much earlier than the other GameDay talent."
MORE: Ranking the 16 greatest Michigan players of all time
David Corso
Another of Lee Corso's sons is David Corso. However, there is not much, if any, public information known about David.
Stephen Corso
Another of Lee Corso's sons is Stephen Corso. Not too much is known about Stephen, but in 2017, Lee did spend time on a "College GameDay" broadcast reflecting on a moment special to him, when Steve scored a game-winning touchdown for Indiana vs. Kentucky in 1980, when Lee was the team's head coach.
According to Sports Reference, Steve Corso was a wide receiver under his father's coaching at Indiana in 1979 and 1980. Over those two seasons, he totaled 22 games played, 537 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
While it's unconfirmed whether it is officially the same Steve Corso, there is a "Steven Lee Corso" on LinkedIn who appears to be Lee's son, as he attended Indiana Bloomington University and has "decades of experience managing hospital and physician practices."
MORE: Revisiting Marcus Freeman's Ohio State playing career
Lee Corso daughter: Diane Corso
Lee Corso's daughter is Diane Corso. Diane is a teacher, author and advocate for awareness on wellness and eating disorders, as she's been very open about her own struggles with eating disorders in the past.
For example, in June 2023, she sat down for an interview with "Growing Bolder" about eating disorders.
Diane wrote a book titled "The Uncomfortable Truth," which details "the harsh reality of living with adult anorexia and the determination to learn to live without it." Corso's website lists her as an "inadvertent expert on eating disorders," dealing with one herself and while she was pregnant with triplets.
Per her website, Diane has three sons and lives in Orlando.
MORE: Ranking the 15 greatest Ohio State players of all time
Lee Corso grandchildren
Lee Corso has a total of 10 grandchildren, plus one great-grandchild.
In May 2025, Lee was featured in a social media post for Bishop Moore Catholic High School in Orlando that revealed that his grandsons would be joining the school via some mascot headgear.
Per the Tallahassee Democrat, at least two of Lee's grandchildren, his son Dan's kids, graduated from Florida State like the longtime broadcaster. The most recent generation of Seminoles in the Corso family included Julianna Corso, who graduated from the school in 2012 and had her grandfather as her commencement speaker.
Julianna then sat down for a news interview with Lee, asking him questions about his time at Florida State and more.
In October 2024, Lee wore a pin during college football season that he revealed was in support of his granddaughter, who was fighting brain cancer and had recently had a brain tumor removed. He did not specify which granddaughter was dealing with brain cancer.
"She's all right now," Corso said in the clip, also revealing that the granddaughter was in her mid-30s. "In support of brain cancer and research, I'm wearing this pin."
LC is BACK!!!! 👏👏👏
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) October 19, 2024
We’ve got one of the biggest CFB weekends of the year and we can’t WAIT!!! pic.twitter.com/7NzlXgJ8QL
MORE: Most NFL Draft picks by a school in one year
Lee Corso dad: Alessandro Corso
Lee Corso's dad was Alessandro Corso. Both Alessandro and Lee's mother, Irma, were Italian immigrants. Alessandro fled Italy during World War I when he was a teenager, according to Orlando Magazine, as he "escaped Fonzaso, a small burg in Northern Italy," after German soldiers had "hung him upside down in the town plaza as an example."
“My parents worked hard their whole lives,” Lee Corso told Orlando Magazine of his father in 2013. “My father would tell me, ‘What a great country this is, that I could have a son like you, and he can get a college degree.’”
In the U.S., Alessandro worked laying terrazzo flooring.
“My junior year in high school, my father took me to work with him,” Lee Corso told Orlando Magazine of Alessandro. “It was summer, and it was blazing hot in Miami. And we’re working with white terrazzo for 75 cents an hour. After that, my father told me, ‘Now you understand why you’re going to go to college.’”
When Lee was 10 years old, he and his parents moved from the Chicago suburbs to Miami. Lee then attended Miami Jackson Senior High School, where he played quarterback and later committed to Florida State.
In 2020, Lee Corso spoke to Kirk Herbstreit over a video call about the history of his family, sharing the details of how his father left Italy, the boat he came on to America, how he spoke little English when Lee was a kid, and more.
MORE: How Heisman Trophy winners have performed at NFL Combine
Lee Corso mom: Irma Corso
Lee Corso's mom was Irma Corso. She was also an immigrant from Italy, and Lee said that she worked in school cafeterias and boarding houses when he was growing up. Per ESPN, while Lee's father had a second-grade education, Irma had made it through fifth grade.
In 2021, Kirk Herbstreit wrote that Lee told him his mother would only ever watch ESPN for "College GameDay," as she only wanted to watch her son.
"Not even my own mother watches [SportsCenter]," Corso told Herbstreit, per ESPN. "I'm saving my best stuff for the big show."
Both Alessandro and Irma were supportive of Lee pursuing his education growing up, per The Athletic.
MORE: Best two-way players in NFL history, from Deion Sanders to Chuck Bednarik
Where is Lee Corso from?
Lee Corso was born in Cicero, Illinois, in August 1935. He and his family later moved to Miami, where he attended Miami Jackson Senior High School.
MORE: Ranking the 16 greatest Alabama players of all time