Artie Kempner

B.S. Public Relations, 1981

Emmy-Winning Television Sports Director, Fox Sports and CBS Sports
Autism Advocate

Hall of Fame 2026

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Artie Kempner is an acclaimed television director whose career in sports broadcasting spans more than four decades. He spent most of this time with Fox Sports, directing the network coverage of the NFL and NASCAR. Kempner worked at CBS Sports from 1982-94, before moving to Fox Sports, to help launch the network’s NFL coverage. Over the years, Kempner directed some of the most high-profile events in sports, including Super Bowl XXXIX (Eagles vs Patriots) and Super Bowl XLII (Giants vs Patriots), as well as eight NFC Championship games and over 690 NFL regular season and playoff games. In 2025, Kempner was named the director of ESPN’s Monday Night Football, bringing his extensive experience and award-winning vision to one of the most iconic franchises in sports television.

Over his 44 seasons in sports television, his directorial credits include:

• Three Winter Olympic Games (1992 & ’94 Alpine Skiing and 1998 Ice Hockey)
• 22 Daytona 500s, and over 400 other NASCAR Races
• The Masters, PGA Championship, US Open, PGA Tour, and LPGA Tour golf
• NCAA Basketball Tournament
• NBA Playoffs & Regular season
• NHL on Fox
• US Open Tennis Championships
• NCAA Championships in Track, Swimming, Gymnastics, and Lacrosse

Kempner is a 12-time Sports Emmy Winner and has garnered over 40 other nominations for major sporting events. He has also directed two Prime Time shows, including the live Fox Special from Egypt, “Opening the Lost Tombs,” which earned three Emmy nominations. Kempner is also one of only a dozen directors in history to have directed a Super Bowl broadcast.

Beyond his professional achievements, Kempner has made a lasting mark through his advocacy. He is the founding president of Autism Delaware and the chairman of the Drive for Autism charity golf event.  The event has raised over $7 million for programs, services, and research for the autism community.  His autism advocacy work has been recognized by Autism Speaks, where he received the first “President’s Award,” and by NASCAR, where he was a finalist for the Home Depot Humanitarian Award and the Comcast Community Champion of the Year. He was also a driving force in creating Fox Sports Supports, which was initiated by the company in 2007 and continues today.  The program supports community and national programs for a variety of different meaningful causes and charities.

Kempner has three sons; Matt, a Director for Turner Sports; Jack, an Associate Director with CBS Sports; and Ethan, who works with the Autism Delaware POW&R program.  Ethan was diagnosed with autism in 1997 and has been the motivation and inspiration behind Kempner’s work with the autism community.