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ESPN officially confirms a decision on the future of a College GameDay staple

Big news out of ESPN.

Lee Corso, who has been with College GameDay since it began in 1987, has officially signed a multi-year contract extension, according to a press release from ESPN.

His long-time partner and co-host, Kirk Herbstreit, was first to announce the news at a fundraiser in Louisville, Ky., according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. 

ESPN has been battered by layoffs brought on by financial pressures due to a decline in subscribers. But they clearly see Corso, 82, as a mainstay, and now will keep him a while longer.

Herbstreit said he told Corso in a recent phone call that he's "Don Corleone of 'GameDay'" and, "as long as you want to hang out, you're the show."

Following the news of mass layoffs, during which long-time personalities such as Ed Werder, Jayson Stark and Trent Dilfer lost their jobs, ESPN has now started announcing those who will stay. There's a running list of all of the personalities who have been cut, here.

According to a new release from the network:

"Longtime SportsCenter anchors Steve Levy, Kenny Mayne, John Anderson and John Buccigross have signed new deals to continue with ESPN and will be the hosts of the 11 p.m. ET SportsCenter. For the first time in nearly a decade, Mayne will anchor from ESPN's Bristol, Conn., studios on a recurring basis beginning June 5. Two of the four will host most weeknight editions of the program as well as some weekends, and the new deals assure the creative core of SportsCenter's signature postgame experience will remain intact for years to come."

John Clayton was the most recent reporter to suffer from the network's massive layoffs.