Former Fox8 sports anchor and Phoenix Club Advisory Board member Rich Brenner passed away unexpectedly on Monday night. He was 65 years old.

The visitation for Brenner will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 2 at Hanes Lineberry Sedgefield Funeral Home at 6000 High Point Rd in Greensboro. The funeral will take place on Saturday, March 3 at 1 p.m. at Aycock Auditorium on the campus of UNCG. Aycock Auditorium is located at 408 Tate Street.
 
Brenner was very active with Elon athletics over the years. He served as emcee for the 2011 The Night of the Phoenix event as well as Elon’s 100 years of men’s basketball celebration ceremonies.  Brenner also filled in as a public address announcer for the Phoenix and taught the university’s sports broadcasting class in the fall of 2007.
 
Brenner, who was originally from Merchantville, N.J., served as a U.S. Marine and broke into broadcasting in 1967 while a college student as a correspondent in Vietnam.
 
He began full-time work in television as a sportscaster in Lynchburg, Va., in 1975 and also worked in Portsmouth, Va., Raleigh, N.C., and Chicago, Ill. before his tenure at Fox8 in 1987.  Brenner retired in April 2008.
 
Among Brenner’s awards were the Silver Circle Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, three Southeast Regional Emmy awards, a National Iris Award and the Charlie Harville award.
 
Very active in the community, Brenner was always quick to honor others, especially those in the military.
 
He is survived by his wife Judy, a daughter, a son and two grandsons.