Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Vitale will not be returning to broadcasting next week after all.
Vitale announced Saturday that he has been hospitalized after a fall at his Florida home. In a post on X, Vitale said doctors told him he is “making great strides” and surgery is not required.
The news comes one day after ESPN announced Vitale would call the Duke-Wake Forest men’s college basketball game Jan. 25 at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston Salem, North Carolina, which would have been his first time on air since 2023.
Vitale, 85, has battled four different types of cancer in the past 3½ years. Most recently, he underwent surgery in summer 2024 after a biopsy of a lymph node in his neck showed cancer. Vitale announced on Jan. 8 that he was cancer-free.
“I’m devastated that I won’t be courtside with my ESPN buddy Dave O’Brien and with all the players and fans, especially because of the overwhelming response I received when news of my planned return was announced,” Vitale said. “I was anxiously awaiting the chance to feel the excitement and energy of a college basketball environment for the first time in nearly two years.”
Vitale added that he is expected to make a full recovery, but no timetable for his return to broadcasting has been made.
“Despite this latest setback, I feel blessed to have the support of my family, friends and ESPN teammates,” Vitale said. “I’m a lucky guy and as I’ve said before, I will continue to do whatever it takes to get back to calling the sport I love.”
In 2021, Vitale was diagnosed with lymphoma, months after he had multiple surgeries to remove melanoma. In 2022, he announced he was cancer-free. Then in 2023, he was diagnosed with vocal cord cancer and underwent radiation.
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. He announced he was cancer-free again in November 2023.
Vitale joined ESPN during the 1979-80 season, just after ESPN’s launch, and called the network’s first 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.
