Tributes poured out Tuesday evening to honor ESPN college football reporter Edward Aschoff after his sudden death due to a brief illness.
ESPN confirmed his death on Christmas Eve, which also marked Aschoff’s 34th birthday.
“We are very sorry to have to share the devastating news of the tragic passing of friend and ESPN colleague Edward Aschoff,” ESPN said in a statement. “He died earlier today, his 34th birthday. Our thoughts are with his loved ones, including his fiancée, Katy.”
Aschoff had been working at ESPN since 2011, reporting on college football across the country.
ESPN Executive Editor Lauren Reynolds called him “one of the smartest, brightest reporters I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.”{mosads}
“Watching him grow from our co-SEC reporter with Chris Low to a multiplatform national reporter was a treat. For as good of a reporter Ed was, he was an even better person,” Reynolds told ESPN. “He always put people first — those whose stories he told, and those who had the honor of working alongside him.”
His surprising death prompted an outpouring of support for his family and sent “RIP Ed” to the top of Twitter’s trends as friends, fans and strangers remembered his life.
While ESPN did not say what illness led to Aschoff’s death, many said he had been suffering from pneumonia.
Aschoff was set to be married to his fiancée, Katy, in New Orleans in April.