Longtime ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale could not hold back the tears when he returned to the court Tuesday night, one month after learning he had lymphoma and would undergo six months of chemotherapy.
Vitale, 82, sat courtside as he called the highly anticipated game between No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 UCLA in Las Vegas with play-by-play partner Dave O’Brien. He quickly got choked up at the top of the broadcast.
“It’s great being here, Dave. I didn’t want to cry,” he said. “I can’t believe I’m sitting here. This is really a big thrill for me. I want to thank all you people, sent me so many great messages. ESPN, (Chairman, ESPN and Sports Content) Jimmy Pitaro, all my buddies at ESPN. I want to thank, certainly, my family and all the fans ... you’ve been unbelievable.”
Vitale expressed his gratitude at being able to continue doing what he loves.
“On October 12, I’ll be honest with you, when they walked in and told me I had cancer, they thought it was bile duct cancer, and it was really going to be a serious surgery and all, I never dreamt at 82 that I’m going to be at courtside again, but to be here today, I’m sorry, I hope I don’t cause a problem out there, but I feel so emotional,” he said.
Vitale has faces significant health challenges this year. In August, he revealed he underwent multiple surgeries to have a melanoma removed.
“On June 28, I went for my first surgery to have the growth removed from above my nose,” he wrote in an essay for ESPN Front Row. “It helped that we caught it early, and I was thrilled to learn it hadn’t spread. The bottom line is they removed all cancer cells, and I was relieved, big time, to be cancer clear. Then came four additional procedures in recent weeks to sew up the area on my face.”
In October, Vitale, known to legions of fans as Dickie V, announced he had been diagnosed with lymphoma.
“The plan is to treat my lymphoma with steroids and six months of chemotherapy,” he wrote in another essay on ESPN Front Row. “The medical experts tell me it has a 90-percent cure rate. They say I can continue to work so I will have to manage my work schedule around my chemo schedule as they will monitor my test results along the way.”
A Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and College Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, the vivacious Vitale is one of the most recognizable faces in college basketball, having called games on ESPN for over 40 years, including the cable network’s first broadcast in 1979.