On Saturday, ESPN director Kyle Brown endured a medical emergency and passed away at the NCAA Baseball Super Regional in Winston-Salem, N.C. Brown, 42, had been employed by the network for 16 years and a two-time Sports Emmy Award-winner. Over his sports media career, Brown worked on baseball broadcasts, along with college football, basketball and Monday Night Football, and he was regarded by many as a rising star in the industry. The medical emergency on Saturday engendered a two-hour delay in the first pitch of the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and it was not disclosed at the moment of the incident.
Brown was a pitcher and one of four team captains for the Ohio State Buckeyes after he received all-state, all-district and all-league distinctions as a senior high school baseball player. At that time, he was pursuing a career in orthopedic surgery, but had a change in heart when afforded the opportunity of a lifetime.
Brown’s neighbor worked as a director at ESPN, and he was invited to accompany him to a production truck so he could watch what goes into the production of a live sports broadcast. From the onset, he became enamored with the craft and decided to pursue a career in communications. Brown began working at the network as an undergraduate student, and was with the network for the entirety of his professional working career.
“The Division I Baseball Committee and NCAA staff send our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Kyle Brown and ESPN,” NCAA Baseball said in a statement. “We will be supportive of any adjustments that our broadcast partner ESPN must make during this difficult time.”
Karl Ravech, play-by-play announcer on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, took time during the broadcast to remember Brown, who is survived by his wife, Megan, and their four children – Makayla, 14; Carson, 11; Camden, 9; and Madyn, 6, along with the family dog, Rookie. Additionally, NCAA baseball broadcasts on Sunday began with an on-air tribute to Brown from studio host Kris Budden, and condolences have poured in from those in sports media.
