ATLANTA — Edward Aschoff, an ESPN college football reporter with ties to Atlanta, died Tuesday, on his 34th birthday, after what the network described as a "brief illness."
Aschoff recently posted on Instagram that he had contracted pneumonia.
Aschoff had a fiancée, Katy, and was set to be married in April, according to an ESPN report.
Aschoff cut his teeth covering the University of Florida, where he graduated from, for The Gainesville Sun before joining ESPN in 2011, according to his public LinkedIn profile. He was based out of Atlanta and was known as the "ATL Kid" among ESPN staff, according to the network's report, before moving to Los Angeles to take on an expanded role two years ago.
According to ESPN, Aschoff was an inaugural Atlanta United season ticket holder and was in attendance for the 2018 MLS Cup Final to see the team win the title.
“We are very sorry to have to share the devastating news of the tragic passing of friend and ESPN colleague Edward Aschoff," an ESPN statement posted to Twitter said. "He died earlier today, his 34th birthday. Our thoughts are with his loved ones, including his fiancée Katy.”
Aschoff was a native of Oxford, Mississippi, and was involved in ESPN's digital, radio and on-air coverage.
Adam Rittenberg, with whom Aschoff wrote an award-winning piece on race in college football in 2016, said on Twitter the reporter was "one of the best people I know."
"Talented, kind, fun, gracious and always positive," Rittenberg wrote. "A great colleague and an even better friend. All of us are devastated and heartbroken. Just isn’t fair. I love you, Ed, and will miss you. Prayers to Katy and Ed’s family."
MORE HEADLINES