Dean Ellington, Technical Director, 20-Year ESPN Veteran Passes Away
The news was first shared publically on ESPN's Get Up on Thursday
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Veteran technical director Dean Ellington passed away on Tuesday night. The news was shared on ESPN’s morning program Get Up on Thursday.
Ellington worked behind the scenes at ESPN for more than two decades. He was a longtime member of the College GameDay crew and has served as a remote operations producer and lead technical director on the NFL Draft for more than 15 years.
A graduate of the University of Hartford, Ellington worked in local news before joining ESPN in 2008. Since then, he worked as a studio technical director on major properties including Super Bowls XLIII to LIII and XLVII to on-site in Rio de Janeiro during ESPN’s coverage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, The Masters, Ryder Cup, the NBA Finals, and much more.
He is survived by his wife, Therelza, and two children.
Ellington’s lasting legacy may very well be his generosity in working with and training the new generations of behind-the-scenes talent that came to ESPN over his years at the network.
“We’re all heartbroken,” says SEC Network coordinating producer Baron Miller. “When I think of Dean Ellington, one word stands out: kindness. From the moment he started on SEC Nation, Dean showed us what real leadership looked like through his acts of kindness. He was incredibly talented, a true role model, and a dear friend. My heart goes out to Therelza and the entire family.”
“Whenever a new technical person started on our crew, it was Dean who taught them,” Get Up host Mike Greenberg said while remembering Ellington on air Thursday morning. “Whenever anyone had a question, it was Dean who answered. He will be greatly missed.”
Mike Greenberg pays tribute to ESPN technical director Dean Ellington, who passed away earlier this week. pic.twitter.com/BNS9iDdrdL
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 22, 2024
“Heartbroken,” ESPN Director of Communications Amanda Brooks tweeted on Thursday. “I don’t have words. I loved being Dean’s teammate. We all did.”
“What a guy. What a teammate,” ESPN senior writer Ryan McGee tweeted. “It’s hard to even imagine the idea of our SEC Network Saturdays without him.”
In 2018, ESPN Front Row profiled Ellington, asking him to share what the role of the technical director entails:
