ESPN Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Vitale has announced he has melanoma in his lung and liver cavity and will be starting immunotherapy soon.
Vitale, one of the preeminent faces of men’s college basketball, has battled four types of cancer in the past few years and most recently underwent surgery in the summer of 2024 after a biopsy of a lymph node in his neck showed cancer.
“I’ve beaten melanoma. I’ve beaten lymphoma. I’ve beaten vocal cord cancer. I’ve beaten lymph node cancer,” Vitale, 86, said in a statement Monday. “I’m four-for-four and I’m fully confident I’m going to make it five-for-five.”
Following a nearly a two-year break to deal with his health, Vitale returned to broadcasting in February of last year after announcing he was cancer-free. He just wrapped up his 46th year covering college basketball at ESPN.
“I am truly overwhelmed by the love, support, prayers and messages I’ve received from so many people” Vitale said. “I’m incredibly blessed to have my family beside me, and my ESPN family — led by Chairman Jimmy Pitaro — has been absolutely terrific. Their support has inspired me to keep fighting and I will do everything in my power to win another battle.
“The best news I can share today is this: I feel fantastic.”
Vitale joined ESPN during the 1979-80 season, just after ESPN’s launch, and called the network’s first major NCAA basketball game on Dec. 5, 1979. He has gone on to call well over 1,000 games, and in September 2024, he was inducted into the Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame.
