03/10/2026
[Sports Broadcasting Legend]
It is with deep regret the Fraternity announces the January 25 passing of sports media executive and Oxford Cup honoree Geoff Mason, Duke ’63. Suffering from complications of lung cancer, he was 85.
Born in Englewood, New Jersey, and initiating into the Gamma Rho Chapter in 1960, Mason graduated with a degree in sociology. Though starting his career at the Boston Herald covering the yachting beat, he would become one of sports television’s most accomplished executives. Mason worked for ABC, NBC, Fox, ESPN and the NFL Network throughout his five decades in the industry, producing coverage of countless events, including seven Olympics, Monday Night Football, Major League Baseball, Indy 500, Triple Crown, PGA, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, British Open, Formula 1, Tour de France, six World Cups and multiple America’s Cup races.
The pace of the work took its toll on Brother Mason, however. In September 1983, he checked himself into the Betty Ford Center for alcoholism. Thankfully, by the end of the year, he was back on his feet and returned to NBC. He remained grateful for the Center’s support, devoting much of his life to helping others in their recovery journey and serving for 22 years on the Center's board of directors. He developed a close friendship with the Ford family and eulogized the former first lady at her 2011 funeral.
Mason helped coordinate coverage of the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage tragedy, marking a pivotal point in sports broadcasting. His experience, and that of the ABC Sports team, was dramatized in the 2024 film “September 5.” In 2003, he was on the launch team of the NFL Network.
Brother Mason’s work certainly did not go unrecognized. Having won 25 Emmys throughout his career, he was inducted into the National Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in December of 2010. He was presented with the Oxford Cup, Beta’s highest honor for professional achievement, at the Fraternity’s 2015 General Convention in Orlando, Florida.
Serving as a great example for all Betas in the passionate pursuit of excellence — and service for the greater good — may Roll No. 472 of the Gamma Rho Chapter rest in peace.