It’s why his return to calling games meant so much for college basketball fans, including legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Vitale, who’s aiming to return to regularly calling games after a battle with cancer, made his first appearance of the college basketball season for the inaugural Dick Vitale Invitational between Texas and No. 5 Duke.
Vitale was emotional as the video board at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina played a tribute — narrated by Krzyzewski — in his honor.
‘I’m in awe of all the love everybody’s giving me out here,’ Vitale said on the broadcast. ‘It’s just unbelievable. Coach K, his words bring me to tears. Jay (Bilas) you played for the man. I’ve certainly learned to admire him so much, I think he’s the greatest coach ever in college basketball.’
Coach K’s kind message in the four-plus-minute tribute video by ESPN clearly meant a lot to Vitale.
‘During my over half-century in college basketball, I have only come across one person who is undefeated when it comes to touching the human spirit,’ Krzyzewski said. ‘His name is Dick Vitale.’
Vitale, a college basketball broadcaster for ESPN since 1979, is calling the first-ever Dick Vitale Invitational, a matchup that bears his name, to open the college basketball season. He signed a two-year extension with ESPN in May.
His enthusiasm was missed by the college basketball world, who’s glad he’s back to broadcasting the sport in a semi-regular fashion.