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Chris Spatola, ESPN college basketball analyst, dies aged 47

Chris Spatola, son-in-law of Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and a former Army player and Duke assistant, has died at 47. The family gave no cause of death.

Published 1 min read Sportpul editorial
Chris Spatola sits at a table with a microphone, holding a blue notebook marked «TOWN HALL».

Chris Spatola, the college basketball analyst and son-in-law of retired Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, has died aged 47. The Krzyzewski family confirmed his death on Tuesday night in a statement released through Duke. No cause was given.

"There are no words to adequately express our heartbreak over the loss of our beloved Chris Spatola," the family said. They described him as a devoted husband and father who served his country, and asked for privacy, "particularly Jamie and her three beautiful children".

Spatola played four years at Army, from 1998 to 2002, and was twice named all-Patriot League. He later served as a military captain in Operation Iraqi Freedom and received commendation medals.

From 2007 to 2012 he was on Krzyzewski's staff at Duke. That included the 2010 NCAA title run, After leaving coaching he moved into broadcasting with ESPN and SiriusXM.

Both networks issued statements on Tuesday night. ESPN called him "thoughtful, prepared and passionate about the sport". SiriusXM described him as "an exceptional teammate and host — intelligent, authentic and passionate". Duke and Army published tributes on social media on Wednesday morning.

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