Lee Corso's Life Playbook: Quotes and lessons that defined his career

"Not so fast!"

Corso's most iconic recurring line from the College GameDay desk, he hauled this phrase at any and everyone on set, from Kirk Herbstreit to an elementary school boy. It mattered not the age or stature of the person offering an opinion — if Lee Corso disagreed, he'd stop you with a quick "Not so fast, my friend."

Of course, the most legendary performance of that turn of phrase came when Corso stared down a child and called him a bad name before telling him, like many others, "Not so fast!" You can see a collection of ESPN's best "Not fo fast" moments from Corso at the link right here.

"It’s entertainment, sweetheart. Football’s our vehicle."

Lee Corso always had a sense for where he fit in college football. After his coaching days, he grew into a beloved TV personality because he never took the job too seriously. College football isn't as industrial and business-driven as the NFL. It involves teenagers, homecoming parades, tailgating, pregame pageantry, and a small town tripling in size for six Saturdays a year. It's more art than science.

Corso understood his role as entertainer. Nobody knows his coaching record or how many games he's correcntly picked with his headgear bravado — fans just love that he does it. Because again, college football is about showmanship and entertainment as much as scoring touchdowns and winning hardware. Coach Corso never forgot that.

“I’m gonna be like that guy in Vaudeville”

Here's a sign of Lee Corso's age. He thinks of himself like a Vaudeville act from, how about, the early 1900s? Apparently, once an act had show-boated beyond what fans had wished for, the performer would be yanked off the stage with a shepherd's crook, a long pole with a big hook on the end. For Corso, it's just a reflection of his passion for what he does. He's never worked a day in his life.

“They hook him around the neck, and they pull him off the stage as he keeps talking," Corso explained when he first gave that quote. Well, Lee Corso never actually got the hook; instead, he's stepping away from the stage on his own, fresh off a 90th birthday.

How do you treat people in your life you cannot use?

Lee Corso spent decades surrounded by the biggest talents in college sports — the best quarterbacks, the best coaches, the best pregame show, the best analysts, the biggest suits in sports media. Yet one of his enduring messages remains: treat every person with respect and dignity.

"You’ll get into the business world; everybody treats the presidents and the vice presidents with respect and dignity," Corso shared at his 2012 commencement speech at Florida State. "But how do you treat the secretary, the guy who parks your car, or the little lady that pours water into the plants? How do you treat those people? That’s the true test of the character of a human being."

Greed will kill you

Across many of his quotes and life lessons, Lee Corso emphasizes positive values: treating everyone with respect, displaying sincere passion in what you do, being grateful for what you've got. In that vein, Corso issued an important warning during the same commencement speech at FSU.

In this life, I’ve learned that, if you’re greedy, you’re destined to fail," he shared. "In the business world, leave a little on the table. Don’t be greedy. In your personal relationships, don’t be greedy."

Lee Corso may have left a little on the negotiating table during his professional career, but he certainly left all of his heart and soul on that College GameDay desk, bringing passion to the television screen and smiles to faces everywhere. Now, it's time he brought us all a few bittersweet tears as well.

So long and sayonara to a great coach, world-class entertainer, and a beautiful soul. It was one heck of a ride.