ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro stepped to the microphone at May’s Dick Vitale Gala in Sarasota with the task of introducing the broadcaster, coach, teacher and humanitarian. Pitaro could have run off a litany of accolades for Vitale, including a decorated four-decade career as the unmistakable voice of ESPN’s college basketball coverage. Instead, he set the stage for Vitale’s entrance, which raised more than $24 million for pediatric cancer research, by summing up what Vitale’s presence and voice — even in its silence from announcing games in 2024 due to a series of throat procedures as he battles cancer — has meant to millions of fans.
“As wonderful as he is on air, Dick Vitale the humanitarian is even more impressive,” Pitaro said. “Despite his frustrations with not being able to work on TV, he never stopped working on behalf of humanity. That’s the essence of Dick Vitale.”
Vitale is best known for his enthusiastic approach to broadcasting in general and college basketball in particular. He started as a teacher and basketball coach at a New Jersey school following his graduation from Seton Hall University in 1962. He would then take the reins of the men’s basketball team at his alma mater, East Rutherford (N.J.) High School, in 1964 where, over a seven-year period, Vitale earned four state sectional and two state championships.
Despite his frustrations with not being able to work on TV, he never stopped working on behalf of humanity. That’s the essence of Dick Vitale.”
Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN
After a stint as an assistant coach at Rutgers, he was named head coach at the University of Detroit in 1973. He would lead the Titans to a better than .700 winning percentage over five years, including an NCAA tournament appearance in 1976-77.
As a student at Michigan during that time, sports analyst Lee Berke was first smitten with Vitale’s passion for college basketball when the coach boisterously called for a match between the Titans and the Wolverines on a local radio station. “He was screaming at the top of his lungs about how the University of Detroit is a top contender and should be playing the University of Michigan,” Berke recalled. “He had all the passion and fire that Dick Vitale is known for. He’s been very consistent and energetic ever since then and remains a terrific communicator.”
That passion led him to the NBA, as coach of the Detroit Pistons in 1978-79. He would find greater success with his next gig at then-fledgling ESPN.
Vitale joined ESPN as an announcer months after the network’s launch, calling the network’s first-ever major NCAA basketball game. That Wisconsin-DePaul contest was one of more than 1,000 games Vitale would announce across six decades.
“In 1979, when Magic [Johnson] and Larry Bird really started what we know today as March Madness, that was the first year Dick Vitale called a game,” Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes said during the gala. “Since that time, he has been the voice of college basketball. He’s taken our game to a level to where it’s as good as any game that we have.”
Vitale’s catchy phrases have become known as Vitale-isms, including “Awesome Baby,” “Diaper Dandy,” referring to a freshman phenom, and “All-Windex Performer,” describing an aggressive rebounder.
His approach to broadcasting has earned induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Sportscasters Hall of Fame.
Renowned Beyond Sports
Non-sports fans may know Vitale from his television and movie appearances over the decades, including The Naked Gun: From The Files of Police Squad!, He Got Game, Love and Basketball and The Cosby Show.
Vitale is becoming as well-known for philanthropy as for basketball. Along with the Dick Vitale Gala fundraiser, he sits on the board of The V Foundation, founded by Vitale’s late friend, former North Carolina State basketball coach and ESPN broadcaster Jim Valvano, to raise money for cancer research.
Vitale reflected on his more than four-decade broadcasting career by saying that he continues to enjoy calling college basketball while always looking for opportunities to give back to those less fortunate.
“My career has absolutely exceeded all of my dreams,” he said. “To make a living doing something you love is special. I feel very blessed and I would simply say it is ‘Awesome Baby’ with a capital A!”
