Dick Vitale Is Set to Return to the Broadcast Booth This Saturday For the First Time Since 2023
For the first time since 2023, legendary college basketball announcer Dick Vitale will be returning to the booth this weekend to call Saturday’s matchup between Duke and Clemson.
It has been a long road back for the Naismith Hall of Famer, who was initially set to return in December, before a fall delayed his comeback.
Photo: ESPN
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous,” Vitale told the Hearld-Tribune. “But more than that? I’m overwhelmed with gratitude. The past few years have tested me like never before.”
Vitale Has Had Four Battles With Cancer
Perhaps the most recognizable college basketball announcer in the history of the sport, Vitale stepped away from broadcasting after a fourth bout with cancer.
Photo: Tampa Bay Times
The broadcaster was initially diagnosed with melanoma in the summer of 2021. Months later, he received a subsequent diagnosis of lymphoma.
After returning to ESPN in the fall of 2021, Vitale had to step away from broadcasting to undergo surgery on his vocal cords.
Photo: Front Office Sports
In 2023, he revealed that the cancer had reached his vocal cords. It would later also spread to his lymph nodes.
“I Kept Fighting, Believing, and Praying”
Thankfully, last December, Vitale announced that he was cancer-free. It was then that the broadcaster began to plan his return.
“There were moments I wasn’t sure I’d ever sit courtside again,” he said. “Long stretches where I had no voice at all. It was a rollercoaster — highs, lows, moments of doubt. But through it all, I kept fighting, believing, and praying. The last time I called a game was on April 3, 2023, the National Championship, UConn versus San Diego State for ESPN International. That feels like a lifetime ago. But now? Now, I get to do it again.”
Photo: ESPN
It has been a long journey back, but soon the Dickie V will once again bring college basketball to the masses. For that, fans will be just as thankful as the broadcaster himself.
