ESPN remembers Geoffrey Mason
A sports broadcasting legend, Mason helped shape the storytelling of many media platforms, including ESPN's
Geoffrey Mason, one of sports television’s most accomplished and honored production executives, died on Sunday in Naples, Fla. He was 85.
Mason had a long history with ABC Sports and ESPN, as an employee and more recently as a consultant for ESPN. Widely credited with helping shape how sports are covered on television, he earned 24 Emmy Awards and was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2010.
“Geoff Mason was a friend and a colleague, who had a storied career, touching just about every corner of the sports television industry,” said Bob Iger, Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. “He had a passion for the business, which was evidenced in his prodigious work ethic, and the constant love and enthusiasm he exhibited on everything he worked on.
“He most certainly will be missed.”
Mason worked on eight Olympics, most notably the 1972 Games in Munich, Germany, when he was coordinating producer for ABC’s coverage of the hostage crisis – a role that was prominently depicted in the 2024 feature film September 5.
In a career that spanned five decades, Mason also worked for NBC, Fox, the NFL Network and other television entities. He was involved in coverage of virtually all of sports’ top events, including the Super Bowl, Monday Night Football, World Series, horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Indianapolis 500, golf and tennis majors, the Tour de France, multiple World Cup and America’s Cup events and more.
Born Dec. 30, 1940, Mason began his career in 1967 as a production associate at ABC Sports, where his assignments included Wide World of Sports and both 1968 Olympic Games.
Among his many assignments for ESPN, he was executive producer for the breakthrough coverage of the 1986-87 America’s Cup from Fremantle, Australia, which won numerous awards, and was head of production planning for the 2010 FIFA Men’s World Cup soccer tournament in South Africa, and the critically acclaimed 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup from Germany.
He was selected by Jim Valvano as a founding board member of the V Foundation for Cancer Research and remained a board member the rest of his life. He also was a longtime board member of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and eulogized Betty Ford at her funeral. The family requests that donations to these organizations be considered.
A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Mason graduated from Duke University with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology in 1963. Survivors include his wife, Chris, and son, Geoff, Jr., and a brother, David.
(L-R) Noubar Stone, Amy Rosenfeld, Geoffrey Mason, Stephanie Druley, Jodi Markley and John Swofford pose on the set of ACC Network at its launch. (Nick Caito/ESPN Images)
Mason was executive producer for ESPN's breakthrough coverage of the 1986-87 America’s Cup. (Photo courtesy of Ken Aagaard)
Mason worked on eight Olympics and earned 24 Emmy Awards. (Photo courtesy of the Mason family)
