Tim Brando's Incredible Story About Lee Corso's College GameDay Audition

Tim Brando still remembers the day Lee Corso talked his way into one of the most iconic jobs in sports television — right in the middle of his own audition.

Broadcasting legend Tim Brando came on the Common Fan Podcast this week. He had plenty to say about the Huskers’ upcoming season, the partnership between Dana Holgorsen and Dylan Raiola, the outlook in the Big Ten, and much more. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the episode, you can find it here.

Brando’s been in the business for 40 years, including a stop at ESPN in the early days of the network. Among his many accomplishments, he was the very first host of College GameDay. With Lee Corso set to retire this year, we asked him about his old friend, and the story he shared did not disappoint. (NOTE: Some quotes have been lightly edited for purposes of clarity). 

“I do go back to his audition at ESPN for the original College GameDay. And he auditioned with (longtime college coach) Pepper Rodgers. They did it simultaneously. I'm working with Beano Cook, and we're going to audition Pepper and Lee Corso to see who the other guy would be.”

Brando shared how he was hesitant to take the reins of the new show because he preferred to be doing play-by-play. 

“I move up there (to Connecticut), and I thought I was going to do games, and they tell me, no, you're going to be the host of College GameDay. And I was like, whoa, OK, what's this? And when they told me, I was excited about it, yeah, but a little disappointed because you guys know me. I always wanted to call games, not necessarily be in a sterile studio in Bristol, Connecticut. But it was anything but sterile with Lee in it.”

According to Brando…

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