City of Oxford to Honor Late ESPN Reporter Edward Aschoff on Jan. 18

Oxford, Mississippi has declared Jan. 18, 2020 as Edward Aschoff Day, in honor of the ESPN reporter who died on Christmas Eve.

The city of Oxford, Mississippi, has declared Jan. 18, 2020 as Edward Aschoff Day, in honor of the ESPN reporter who died on Christmas Eve, his 34th birthday. The city's Board of Aldermen unanimously approved the proclamation earlier this week.

"The people who loved him watched in awe the past month as the entire country has come to know him for his talent and drive, yes, but mostly for the way he lived his life," the proclamation said. "We should all aspire to be remembered that way."

Mayor Robyn Tannehill presented the proclamation to the Board after the suggestion of honoring Aschoff was made to her by writer Wright Thompson, one of Aschoff’s colleagues at ESPN.

"Wright asked if we would consider proclaiming January 18 as Edward Aschoff Day and I told him we would be honored to,” Tannehill told the Oxford Eagle. “I did not personally know Edward, but to see and hear and read all of the different stories and the accounts of not only what a talented person he was, but the time that he took to mentor others.”

Aschoff died after a battle with pneumonia. In the wake of his death, Katy Berteau, Aschoff's fiancée, shared a touching thread on his Twitter page.

"I want to say thank you to everyone who has expressed their sympathies, condolences, and prayers for me and his family and friends," Berteau wrote on Aschoff's feed.

(8/12) He also loved Christmas so much that, even from the ICU, he was coordinating with my friend about wrapping my presents so I could be surprised. pic.twitter.com/37cp6yYC9F

— Edward Aschoff (@AschoffESPN) December 27, 2019

Berteau and Aschoff were set to be married in New Orleans in April.

Aschoff joined ESPN in 2011 as part of the SEC blog network, which covers the NCAA Southeastern Conference. Through his time covering college football, Aschoff had gotten to know many people across the sport, bonding with LSU head coach Ed Orgeron and a number of Tigers, among others.

Born in Oxford, the 2008 graduate of the University of Florida previously covered recruiting and Florida football for The Gainesville Sun.

The proclamation honoring Aschoff was presented to Berteau as well, Tannehill noted.