Dick Vitale, 85, Makes Emotional Return to the Broadcasting Booth for Duke-Clemson Basketball Game

Mar. 15, 2025

Dick Vitale on Feb. 8, 2025.Photo:AP Photo/Scott Kinser

AP Photo/Scott Kinser

Dick Vitaleis back!

After two years away, the beloved ESPN sports commentator returned to the broadcasting booth at Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum, theAssociated Pressreported.

Per the outlet, as he entered the stadium from a tunnel, the crowd burst into cheers and applause. Vitale — affectionately known as Dickie V — received a standing ovation, nearly a minute long, and fought tears as he looked up into the stands on his first night back.

In a sweet post the following day, Vitale, 85, shared a photo of his return, with tons of Clemson fans decked out in orange behind him — one holding a sign that read, “We missed you, Dickie V.”

Vitale — who hasdealt with four separate types of cancer diagnosesin the same number of years — shared the good news in late December that he is officially cancer-free.

Vitale reported on hisfirst gamewith ESPN in December of 1979, just months after the company launched in September of that year.

“It’s been a journey that’s exceeded any dream I ever had," Vitale told ESPN in 2019. “I owe so much of my career to all the beautiful people at ESPN and the incredible college basketball fans.”

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source: people.com