ESPN analyst Chris Spatola dies unexpectedly at age 47

Jan 14, 2023; Waco, Texas, USA; ESPN announcers Chris Spatola and Mark Neely that were working game the between the Baylor Bears and the Oklahoma State Cowboys had to call the game via a cell phone after a power outage during the second half at Ferrell Center. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN college basketball analyst Chris Spatola has died.

The network shared the very sad news on Tuesday that Spatola died at the age of 47 on Monday. Spatola’s death was said to have happened “unexpectedly.”

Here is ESPN’s full statement on Spatola’s death.

ESPN remembers college basketball analyst Chris Spatola, who passed away unexpectedly Monday pic.twitter.com/4dOzddXQ8I
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) September 23, 2026

Spatola is a former soldier who was a captain in the United States Army and served on active duty from 2002-07. He was also a four-year starting guard for Army University, leading The Patriot League in scoring (twice), free-throw percentage (twice), and three-point percentage (once).

After completing his military service, Spatola would go into coaching, joining the staff at Duke University under Mike Krzyzewski. Coach K was also Spatola’s father-in-law as he was married to Krzyzewski’s youngest daughter Jamie. Spatola was an assistant coach for Duke for five seasons from 2007-12 and also served as the Blue Devils’ director of basketball operations during his time there.

Eventually, Spatola made the leap to sports media and joined ESPN as a college basketball analyst in 2015. His duties for the network included doing color commentary during game broadcasts and also appearing in-studio across various ESPN platforms.