ESPN announces Hall of Famer Dick Vitale’s return to broadcasting following recent battle with cancer

One of college basketball’s preeminent voices returns to the air after a nearly two-year absence. Dick Vitale’s final television assignment for ESPN was on April 3, 2023.

Vitale was on call for the international broadcast of this season’s men’s basketball national championship game between the UConn Huskies and the San Diego State Aztecs.

The Hall of Fame broadcaster is expected to resume his analyst duties when Duke takes on Wake Forest on Jan. 25 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The 85-year-old’s return comes after he battled four different types of cancer for three and a half years.

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College basketball legend Dick Vitale before an SEC Tournament game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Arkansas Razorbacks at Amalie Arena on March 11, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Vitale had his final medical procedure last summer after a biopsy of a lymph node in his neck revealed cancer. Earlier this month, the legendary broadcaster declared he was cancer-free.

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In 2021, months after undergoing a handful of surgeries to remove melanoma, Vitale was diagnosed with lymphoma. The next year he announced he was cancer-free. In 2023, Vitale learned of the diagnosis of vocal cord cancer and underwent radiation treatment.

Dick Vitale on the sideline during a men’s Champions Classic college basketball game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Michigan State Spartans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on November 15, 2022 in Indianapolis. (Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

“I am absolutely thrilled and cannot believe this is happening after six months of undergoing five major vocal cord surgeries, 65 radiation treatments and chemotherapy,” Vitale said in a statement.

“It has been a very hard journey but all the prayers and messages from the wonderful 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 have shown me. “It’s such a difficult time. I just hope I can offer people some insight into basketball that can add even more excitement to the game.

ESPN analyst Dick Vitale is recognized for his return to Allen Fieldhouse. (Ed Zurga/Getty Images)

Pitaro, chairman of ESPN, said Vitale was “one of a kind.”

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

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Vitale has been with ESPN for more than four decades, joining the network during the 1979-80 college basketball season. Since then he has called more than 1,000 games.

Vitale was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in September.

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