Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Vitale will not return to broadcasting next week after all.
Vitale announced Saturday that an accident at his home in Florida had created “short-term physical limitations” and would prevent him from returning to broadcasting next week as planned.
The news comes a day after ESPN announced Vitale would call the Duke-Wake Forest men’s college basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 25 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston Salem, North Carolina, his first broadcast since 2023.
Vitale, 85, has battled four different types of cancer over the past three and a half years. Most recently, he underwent surgery in the summer of 2024 after a biopsy of a lymph node in his neck revealed cancer. Vitale announced on January 8 that he was cancer free.
Vitale said the accident at his home was not cancer-related.
“I’m devastated not to be on the field with my ESPN buddy Dave O’Brien and all the players and fans, especially because of the overwhelming response I received when news of my planned return was announced. announced,” Vitale said. “I was looking forward to the chance to feel the excitement and energy of a college basketball environment for the first time in almost two years.”
Vitale added that he is expected to make a full recovery, but that no timetable for his return to broadcasting has been established.
“Despite this latest setback, I feel fortunate to have the support of my family, friends and teammates at ESPN,” Vitale said. “I’m a lucky guy and like I 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 undergoing multiple surgeries to remove melanoma. In 2022, he announced that he was cancer free. Then, in 2023, he was diagnosed with vocal cord cancer and underwent radiation therapy.
Vitale’s last game assignment was nearly two years ago – April 3, 2023, calling the international broadcast of the San Diego State vs. UConn national championship for ESPN. He announced that he was cancer free for the third time in November 2023.
Vitale joined ESPN during the 1979-80 season, just after ESPN’s launch, and called the first major NCAA basketball game on December 5, 1979. He went on to call more than 1,000 games and in September 2024, he was inducted into ESPN. the Broadcast and Cable Hall of Fame.
