Clemson basketball honors broadcaster Dick Vitale with classy pregame gesture
Dick Vitale made his return to broadcasting Saturday.
And Clemson made sure he felt welcome.
About 30 minutes before the Tigers men’s basketball team tipped off against No. 2 Duke, Vitale emerged from a tunnel at Littlejohn Coliseum to head toward his courtside seat, where he’d be calling the game for ESPN.
He was met with a standing ovation from the student section and a message on the in-arena video board: “He’s back, baby!”
Vitale got a second standing ovation minutes before tipoff, which included Clemson’s public announcer paying tribute to the broadcasting legend with an impression.
“Dickie V, you’re awesome, baby!” the PA man said over the loudspeaker.
Vitale, 85, had not called a men’s basketball game in two years as he’s battled four different types of cancer over the past four years, including vocal cord cancer that came with eight months of “voice rest.”
Vitale, one of college basketball’s most iconic voices, couldn’t say a word.
But Vitale was declared cancer free last month, and ESPN announced earlier this week he’d make his broadcasting return to call Saturday’s Clemson-Duke game with play-by-play announcer Dave O’Brien and analyst Corey Alexander.
Clemson won the game, 77-71, snapping No. 2 Duke’s nation-best 16-game winning streak in a matchup of the ACC’s top two teams by conference winning percentage.
Vitale was initially set to return to ESPN for a Jan. 25 Duke-Wake Forest game in Winston-Salem, NC. But he fell at his home in Florida, which delayed his return another two weeks.
Vitale has not called a game since ESPN’s international broadcast of the 2023 national championship game between UConn and San Diego State and was emotional previewing the moment with reporters Friday in Clemson.
“I need it because it’s the greatest medicine in the world,” Vitale said. “I can’t tell you the high and excitement to sit down and meet the fans again.”
He added of Saturday’s game: “Really, tomorrow, even if I’m horrible or whatever, it’s my championship, man, to be out there is my championship.”
Reception was ‘off the charts’
Early in Saturday’s broadcast, Vitale thanked Clemson for welcoming him to Littlejohn Coliseum. His day in Clemson also included pregame meetups with Brownell, Clemson president Jim Clements and athletic director Graham Neff.
He also spent time with Duke coach Jon Scheyer pregame.
“The reception here has been really been off the charts,” Vitale said on ESPN, his voice cracking. “I’m sorry for being so emotional but I can’t tell you how excited I am to be here. ... This is like my Super Bowl. Being here, sitting courtside, it beats the hell out of the chemo and the radiation.”
Clemson guard Chase Hunter said postgame he was a big fan of Vitale and had seen on social media he’d be returning for the Clemson-Duke game.
“It means a lot,” Hunter said. “We’re a part of history. ... It’s definitely something we all thought about. I’ve been watching college basketball all my life and he’s someone I admire, so it was big to have him here.”
Brownell said Vitale had called him last week, after Clemson beat NC State in Raleigh, to inform the Tigers coach he’d be calling their game Saturday.
Vitale has worked at ESPN since 1979, was part of the network’s very first college basketball broadcast and has called over 1,000 games since.
“He’s changed college basketball for television,” Brownell said. “To have him back where he belongs is terrific.”
This story was originally published February 8, 2025 at 6:40 PM.
