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Kirk Herbstreit Shares Emotional Message After Beloved Dog Ben Dies

Ryan Phillips

Kirk Herbstreit with his golden retriever Ben.
Kirk Herbstreit with his golden retriever Ben. / Via Kirk Herbstreit on

Kirk Herbstreit shared an update no one wanted to hear on Thursday.

The ESPN college football analyst took to X (formerly Twitter) and shared the news that his beloved golden retriever Ben had died.

Herbstreit's message read as follows:

This is really hard to write but so many of you have loved and cared about Ben that I wanted to let you know. We found out today the cancer had spread throughout Bens organs and there was nothing left we could do-we had to let him go. I’ve had dogs my whole life but Ben was 1 on 1. He was smart-loving-gentle-patient-inquisitive-and welcoming to all. Always a big smile and a soft tail wag. He and I could communicate..he and I understood each other and had each others backs. He was with me more than anyone at home and traveling with me for work. Such an easy going companion. Hard day-but he will live within all of us forever. God please bless his majestic soul and thank you for putting him in my life for the last 10 years—a true blessing.

Love you Ben.

Ben had become a fixture at college campuses across the country as Herbstreit would bring him along to College GameDay and wherever he was covering games every week. He was the oldest of four golden retrievers the Herbstreit family owns.

On Monday, Herbstreit gave a concerning update about Ben's health that caused an avalanche of well-wishes on social media.

There are plenty of videos of Ben interacting with Herbstreit or fans over the past few years. A few are below.

Herbstreit's emotional message hits home for anyone who has ever owned a dog. Ben was beloved around the college football world so this is a really sad day.

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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.

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