ESPN anchor Stuart Scott dies after long battle with cancer

Scott is survived by his daughters, 19-year-old Taelor and 15-year-old Sydni, his parents and three siblings.

Scott was diagnosed with cancer in November 2007 and dealt with recurring bouts of the disease during the final seven years of his life.

“ESPN and everyone in the sports world have lost a true friend and a uniquely inspirational figure in Stuart Scott,” ESPN president John Skipper said in a statement. “Who engages in mixed martial arts training in the midst of chemotherapy treatments? Who leaves a hospital procedure to return to the set? His energetic and unwavering devotion to his family and to his work while fighting the battle of his life left us in awe, and he leaves a void that can never be replaced.”

President Barack Obama also offered his condolences to Scott's family.

"I will miss Stuart Scott. Twenty years ago, Stu helped usher in a new way to talk about our favorite teams and the day’s best plays. For much of those 20 years, public service and campaigns have kept me from my family – but wherever I went, I could flip on the TV and Stu and his colleagues on SportsCenter were there," Obama said. "Over the years, he entertained us, and in the end, he inspired us – with courage and love."

Prior to joining ESPN in 1993, Scott spent three years as a news reporter at WRAL-TV. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1987 after attending high school in Winston-Salem, N.C.

WRAL Sports anchor Jeff Gravley said there was a "natural bond" between Scott and the sports department.

"I think back to our Sunday afternoon WRAL flag football games. Stuart was always the first pick. He still had great football skills, and he would let you know it, too," Gravley said in a statement.

"Stuart worked hard at his craft and once he left WRAL his career really exploded. When he joined ESPN I wondered if he would still remember us. No matter how big his career got, Stuart never big-timed us," Gravley continued. "He would visit when he was in town and always treated us like family. That's why our hearts ache but I find peace knowing that the suffering and pain has ended for our friend."

Bob Holliday, WRAL's sports director in the early 1990s, said Scott was the life of the party during his time in Raleigh.

"He was a little bit like Michael Jordan. He was destined for really good things. But his persona at ESPN exceeded anybody's wildest dreams," Holliday said. "He was so creative. He was very gregarious, and he added so much energy to the newsroom. What you saw on the air was what you got in person."

UNC's department of athletics also released a statement Sunday about Scott's passing.

“Our hearts go out to Stuart Scott’s family and friends, including his daughters Taelor and Sydni, and his colleagues at ESPN. He loved his home state and his alma mater. Stuart taught us that sports is about joy and laughter, not just achievement and results. More important, he showed us how to fight with dignity and honor," the statement said. "He blazed a path in broadcasting that is often imitated, but never duplicated. His legacy will live on in many ways – as a friend, a son, a father, a professional and forever, a Tar Heel. All of us at the University he loved so richly feel a profound sadness in his passing. We will miss him but we will honor his memory and continue the fight he endured so bravely.”

While accepting the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance in July 2014, Scott told the ESPY audience that "when you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and in the manner in which you live."