BRISTOL, Connecticut -- Stuart Scott died Sunday after a much publicized battle with cancer, reported ESPN. Scott was 49 years old when he died.
Stuart Scott joined the cable sports and entertainment network in 1993. He rose to fame as an anchor on ESPN's flagship program SportsCenter.
Scott was remembered in an ESPN.com obituary as someone who "changed everything."
Stuart Scott, a longtime anchor at ESPN, died Sunday morning at the age of 49.
Among the features of the new ESPN studio in Bristol is a wall of catchphrases made famous by on-air talent over the years. An amazing nine of them belong to one man -- from his signature "Boo-Yah!" to "As cool as the other side of the pillow" to "He must be the bus driver cuz he was takin' him to school."
That man is Stuart Scott, and his contributions to the sports lexicon are writ large. But they are only one aspect of his legacy. When he passed away, he left behind so much more. He inspired his colleagues with his sheer talent, his work ethic and his devotion to his daughters, Taelor, 19, and Sydni, 15. He defied convention and criticism to help bring this network into a new century. He spoke to the very athletes he was talking about with a flair and a style that ESPN President John Skipper says, "changed everything."
In 2014, ESPN honored Scott with the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance.
"When you die, that does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer, by how you live, why you live and in the manner in which live," Scott said during his emotional speech. "So live, live, fight like hell."
Scott was on the air for ESPN for 21 years, and his anchoring included coverage of NFL and NBA games.
His diagnosis came in November 2007, and ESPN said Scott "went through several surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation and clinical trials to stay strong and ward off cancer for as long as humanly possible."
On Sunday morning there was an immediate outpouring of love and grief from Scott's longtime colleagues.
ESPN's Rick Reilly wrote on Twitter that he was heartbroken: Scott "lived with such panache. He battled his disease with such dignity. Unforgettable man."
Afternoon "SportsCenter" host Linda Cohn wrote, "I can't believe he is gone. There was nobody like Stuart Scott, There will never be again. A big presence with even a bigger heart."
The CNN Wire contributed to this report.
