Dick Vitale's Victory: Former Star Triumphs in NCAA Basketball Amidst Cancer Battle
The legendary broadcaster will make his NCAA tournament debut on March 17 alongside Charles Barkley when they call the Texas-N.C. State First Four play-in game
Dick Vitale Credit: Jeff Moreland/Icon Sportswire via Getty NEED TO KNOW Dick Vitale is ready for March Madness The ESPN broadcaster will call his first-ever NCAA tournament game on Tuesday, March 17 Since 2021, Vitale has received four different cancer diagnoses On Tuesday, March 17, Dick Vitale will call his first March Madness game in 46 years of broadcasting— and he thinks it’s pretty awesome (baby). “Gonna be doing the First Four game, and I’m looking forward to it,” Vitale, 86, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview, pegged to his partnership with Planet Fitness, in advance of the Texas-N. C.
State play-in game. Until now, the veteran ESPN voice has never called an NCAA tournament game out of loyalty to his longtime network, despite having numerous opportunities in the past. But a chance to reunite with Charles Barkley — the two called the Kentucky-Indiana game in December — has Dickie V ready for action.
“I had a lot of fun with Charles,” Vitale says. “One of my favorite moments in my 46 years at ESPN has been when I did the game with Charles. ” Charles Barkley, Dick Vitale Credit: Dylan Buell/Getty A return to the sidelines has the legendary broadcaster reflecting on the past few years in which he has faced numerous health challenges.
“It certainly was a tough road for me,” he tells PEOPLE. “It was a journey that no one wants to go through. Four years, four different cancers.