Tag: DICKIE

• Vitale to call Duke at Wake Forest – Sat., Jan. 25 at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, his first game since April 3, 2023

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Vitale will return to the air for the first time since 2023 to call the Duke at Wake Forest men’s college basketball game on Saturday, January 25 (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). The legendary voice of college basketball, who has battled four different types of cancer in the past three and a half years, announced that he was cancer free on Jan. 8.

Vitale will call the ACC matchup alongside play-by-play commentator Dave O’Brien at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston Salem, N.C.

“I am absolutely ecstatic and I can’t believe this is happening after going through five major vocal cord surgeries, 65 radiation treatments and chemotherapy for six months,” said Vitale. “It’s been a very tough journey, but all of the prayers and messages from the beautiful fans have inspired me. I can’t thank Jimmy Pitaro and all of my ESPN colleagues who I consider my second family enough for the love they showed me through such a tough time. I just hope that I can offer the people some basketball insights that can bring even more excitement to the game.”

“There is no better ambassador for the sport of college basketball than Dick Vitale. Even while navigating his own health challenges, Dick continued to look for ways to give back and help others, inspiring us all,” said Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN. “Dick is one-of-a-kind and we can’t wait to have him back doing what he loves most on ESPN on January 25.”

“After all of the battles and challenges that Dick has been through over the past several years, we should all feel lucky that we’re able to have him back courtside again,” said David Ceisler, vice president of production. “He has fought tirelessly for everybody else and it is so rewarding to see that he’s won another battle.”

Vitale’s last game assignment was nearly two years ago – on April 3, 2023, calling the international broadcast of the San Diego State vs. UConn National Championship for ESPN.

Vitale joined ESPN during the 1979-80 season, just after ESPN’s launch, and called the network’s first-ever major NCAA basketball game on Dec. 5, 1979. He has gone on to call well over 1,000 games and in September 2024, he was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame.

Vitale has been one of the leading voices of the V Foundation for Cancer Research, founded in 1993 by ESPN and the late Jim Valvano, Vitale’s close friend. With the help of ESPN and Vitale’s efforts, The V Foundation has funded nearly $400 million in game-changing cancer research grants in North America. Since the 2005 inception of the Dick Vitale Gala, nearly $93 million has been raised for the V Foundation’s Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund.