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Dick Vitale, the legendary college basketball broadcaster, revealed the very positive news after seeing his vocal cord doctor on Wednesday.
Vitale said that after his doctor, Steven Zeitels, performed a skepography, his vocal cords are cancer-free.
Zeitels believes that Vitale could return playground with headphones on the ears very quickly.
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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, March 4, 2023. (Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports)
“I just had my vocal cords checked and was very emotional with Dr. ZEITELS great report. He said the vocal cords are cancer free and feels like I can get back to my love of being on the court for @espn,” Vitale posted on X with pictures of himself in the doctor’s office the chair.
Vitale hasn’t lost his passion for college basketball at age 85, but in recent years has gone through tremendous battles with cancer, including melanoma, lymphoma and throat cancer.
But Vitale announced in December 2024 that he was officially cancer-free, though it was unknown if he would return to the court to call some of the best college basketball games in the country.
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So this news after his check-in with Zeitels is significant as he clearly wants to get back to entertaining the fans with his enthusiastic broadcasts on match days.
“Dick, you’re back!” Zeitels said in a video posted on Vitale’s Facebook Watch. “Your vocal cords won’t last you.
“We’ve been on 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, players, ESPN, you’re ready to be with everyone again.”
ESPN’s Dick Vitale, left, meets with SEC Commissioner Greg Stankey before the game between Texas A&M and Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference Tournament, March 12, 2022, in Tampa, Florida. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Vitale became enraged after Zeitels said those words, and the doctor comforted him, knowing full well what he had been through.
“Dickie V” 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 some time coaching at Garfield High School before taking over at his alma mater, East Rutherford High School, where he led teams to two New Jersey state titles.
Vitale went on to coach as an assistant at Rutgers before going to the University of Detroit as their head coach. He would stay in Michigan City and coach his Pistons from 1978 to 1979.
After he finished coaching the Pistons, Vitale joined ESPN, calling his first college basketball game in 1979, a game in which DePaul beat Wisconsin, and the rest is sweet history.
Dick Vitale 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)
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Now, Vitale is excited to return to his love, he says, and it’s safe to say that all college basketball fans can’t wait for his long-awaited return.
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