Famed ESPN director Kurt Ackerman has passed away at 58, with colleagues leaving him notable tributes

Last week, prominent ESPN director Kurt Ackerman passed away at 58 following a five-year battle with cancer. He spent more than 25 years at the company, directing everything from RPM2Night, NBA ShootAround, NASCAR Now, and most recently, First Take. ESPN PR’s Mike Soltys has collected a number of notable tributes for Ackerman, including this line from ESPN VP Scott Favalora:

“Kurt never put the spotlight on himself, but his work was always admired and appreciated,” said ESPN’s Vice President of Studio Directing Scott Favalora. “His work ethic was amazing, and he continued to direct at a high level even while battling cancer. Throughout his 25 years with ESPN he has mentored so many and befriended even more. I don’t have the words to express how much Kurt will be missed.”

Soltys also included some notable on-air tributes to Ackerman from Scott Van Pelt, Mike Greenberg, and Molly Qerim Rose. Here are those:

Ackerman certainly made a notable impact on many of those he worked with, and it’s impressive how many vastly-different ESPN properties he worked on. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.

[ESPN Front Row]