By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – One of the best things about being a sports writer who covers a Big Ten football team is the people you meet along the way.

And when you’ve done it for as long as I have, which dates back to 1992 when I started covering the Iowa football team, you have the opportunity to meet a lot of interesting, and sometimes, famous people in all sorts of different places, like in an airport for example.

That’s where I had the privilege of meeting Lee Corso, whose legend as a broadcaster for ESPN was just starting to grow.

And while time has caused some of the specific details to fade away, Corso and I crossed paths in either the Orlando, Tampa or Miami airport the morning after the Iowa football team had played in a bowl game.

It was about 15 or 20 years ago, so it could have been the day after Iowa had played in either the Outback Bowl, the Capital One Bowl or the Orange Bowl.

I wish I could remember more facts and details about the circumstances surrounding our brief conversation.

But what I still vividly remember about meeting Lee Corso as the Florida sun was just starting to rise is how well he treated me that day.

It would have been easy for Corso under the circumstances to have said, ‘hey, it’s early, I’m really tired, and I’ve got work to do. I don’t have time to chat right now.’

But he didn’t.

Instead, he stopped whatever he was working on and made it seem as if I mattered, even at six in the morning.

I was working for the Iowa City Press-Citizen at the time, and when I told Corso about my Hawkeye connection, he immediately brought up Hayden Fry. Corso said Iowa was so fortunate to have had Fry as a head coach for 20 years. He also praised Fry for helping to make college football a better game and for helping to shape and mold the lives of young men.

Corso also praised Kirk Ferentz, who by that time had rebuilt the Iowa program into a consistent winner.

My conversation with Corso eventually shifted to him being the answer to a Hawkeye trivia question:

Which head coach did Hayden Fry lose to in his first game as the Iowa head coach?

The answer, of course, is Corso, who was the head coach for Indiana at the time.

Iowa hosted the Hoosiers in Fry’s debut on Sept. 8, 1979 at Kinnick Stadium.

Hawkeye fans were ecstatic, and maybe some were in shock, after having watched Iowa score on its first four possessions and bolt to a 26-3 halftime lead.

The Hawkeyes had suffered through 19 straight non-winning seasons when Fry was hired to end the misery.

So for Iowa to lead any opponent by 23 points at halftime was almost surreal.

The joy and jubilation didn’t last for long, though, as the Hoosiers battled back to win, 30-26, holding Iowa scoreless in the second half.

If memory serves me correct, I was the one who brought up Fry’s unsuccessful Hawkeye coaching debut to Corso.

I think Corso appreciated that I knew about his connection to Fry.

We probably only talked for about 10 minutes or so.

But it was long enough for me to realize that Lee Corso was the same person on and off the air. He was friendly, engaging, genuine and funny, just like he has been on television for 30 years.

I’ve been reminded of that as Lee Corso prepares for the next stage in his life, which is retirement.

The 90-year-old Corso will make his final appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay this coming Saturday in what will undoubtedly be an emotional event for everyone involved.

Lee Corso is what’s good about college football.

He loves the game, and he loves people.

Combine that with his gift for gab and you have somebody whose legacy is like no other.

Dick Vitale, who is college basketball’s version of Corso, is probably the closest that comes to mind.

Corso’s kindness and sense of humor, his passion for the game and his vast knowledge have helped to make him a one-of-a-kind college football analyst.

Fans have waited every week during football season for Corso to put on the head gear for the team that he picks to win the marquee matchup for each week.

Major college football has become such a big and serious business that it’s refreshing to have had somebody like Corso to help put everything in perspective.

Corso could be serious when the situation called for it.

But he mostly has been about having fun with all the people whose lives he has touched.

If Lee Corso could make me feel important just from a 10-minute conversation in an airport concourse, imagine the impact he’s had on the people who have been fortunate enough to work closely with him for all these years.

Imagine the impact he’s had on his family members and on the players he has coached along the way.

Corso was also an accomplished player as he once held the record for interceptions at Florida State until a defensive back named Deion Sanders broke it in the late 1980s.

Corso has dedicated his life to college football and the game is so much better because of what he has contributed to it as a player, coach and analyst.

Perhaps what pleases me the most about Lee Corso is that he is as friendly away from the television set as he is on it.

I could say the same about former NBA star player and head coach Doug Collins, who also treated me with kindness and respect after I approached him at the NBA pre-draft camp in 1997.

Unlike my conversation with Corso, I remember the year with Collins because I was in Chicago to cover former Iowa point guard Andre Woolridge’s participation in the NBA pre-draft.

While some of the head coaches brushed me aside, Collins took time to speak with me and to answer my questions.

He had an interest in Iowa basketball because his son, Chris Collins, had seriously considered attending Iowa before choosing Duke, where he would go on to be a star guard.

Chris Collins is now the men’s basketball coach for Northwestern, and I’ve always sort of pulled for him because his father treated me with kindness and respect when he could’ve easily ignored me.

And for that, I will forever be grateful.

There was also the time when former Purdue men’s basketball coach Gene Keady returned my phone call when I was taking a shower. He actually waited for me to dry off and get dressed and then we spent about 15 minutes talking hoops.

Gene Keady was known for his famous scowl.

But behind that scary and intimidating scowl is a kind and friendly person who has treated people with respect. I know that to be fact because so many in the business based on their experiences have said the same about Gene Keady in that looks can be deceiving.

I can think back to times during my career when I reached out to a famous athlete, or ex-athlete, or a famous head coach, but was basically told in so many words to get lost.

Fame and success sometimes have a way of making people more guarded, standoffish or aloof around strangers.

That’s why I will forever cherish my brief encounters with Lee Corso, Doug Collins and Gene Keady, because sometimes just being nice when the cameras and lights aren’t flashing leaves a lasting impression.