Dick Vitale, the legendary college basketball broadcaster, revealed very positive news after visiting his vocal cord doctor on Wednesday.
Vitale said that after his doctor, Steven Zeitels, performed an endoscope, his vocal cords are cancer-free.
Zeitels believes Vitale could be back on the court very soon with headphones on.
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Dick Vitale, left, and Jon Sciambi shake hands after calling the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Kansas Jayhawks on ESPN at the Moody Center in Austin on March 4, 2023. (Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports)
“I just had my vocal cords examined and was very excited by the excellent report from Dr. ZEITELS. He said the vocal cords are cancer free and he feels I can feel my love again being on the court for @espn,” Vitale posted . in X with photographs of himself in the doctor’s chair.
Vitale has not lost his passion for college basketball at 85 years old, but he has gone through tremendous battles with cancer, including melanoma, lymphoma and laryngeal cancer in recent years.
But Vitale announced in December 2024 that he was officially cancer-free, although it was unknown whether he would return to the court to call some of the best college basketball matchups in the country.
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This news after his control with Zeitels is therefore significant because he clearly wants to entertain fans again with his enthusiastic broadcasts on match days.
“Dick, you’re back!” Zeitels said in a video posted to Vitale’s Facebook Watch. “Your vocal cords are not going to stop you.
“We’ve been down this road for a long time. I didn’t know we could get here, but we’re here. And you’re ready to be with your viewers, the players, ESPN, you’re ready to be with everyone again.”
ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale, left, meets with SEC Commissioner Greg Stankey before a game between Texas A&M and Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference tournament on March 12, 2022, in Tampa, Florida. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Vitale became emotional after Zeitels said those words, and the doctor comforted him, knowing full well what he had been through.
“Dickie V” has spent 41 years as a college basketball broadcaster after spending time coaching at various levels, from high school to the NBA.
The New Jersey native spent time coaching at Garfield High School before taking over his alma mater, East Rutherford High School, where he led teams to two New Jersey state titles.
Vitale would go on to coach as an assistant at Rutgers before heading to the University of Detroit as their head coach. He would remain in Michigan City to coach the Pistons from 1978 to 1979.
Once he was done coaching the Pistons, Vitale joined ESPN and called his first college basketball game in 1979, a game in which DePaul beat Wisconsin, and the rest has been a sweet story.
Dick Vitale has spent 41 years as a college basketball broadcaster after spending time coaching at various levels, from high school to the NBA. (Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
Now, Vitale is excited to be back with his love, as he says, and it’s safe to say that all college basketball fans can’t wait for his long-awaited return.
