Legendary broadcaster Dick Vitale agrees to contract extension with ESPN through 2027-28 season
The biggest name in college-basketball broadcasting is sticking around for a few more years. Legendary broadcaster Dick Vitale signed a contract extension with ESPN through the 2027-28 season, the network announced Monday.
The announcement comes on the same day ESPN announced a college-basketball event in Vitale's name. The Dick Vitale Invitational will take place in Charlotte, North Carolina on Nov. 4. The inaugural game will feature Texas and Duke.
Advertisement
The new deal will see Vitale, who has been with the network since 1979, reach nearly 50 years with ESPN. In a statement, he thanked the company for supporting him over the years.
'ESPN has been such a vital part of my life since December 5, 1979, and I was so thrilled to learn that ESPN Events will have an annual Dick Vitale Invitational,' said Vitale. 'Jimmy Pitaro and all my colleagues and friends at ESPN have been so good to me and I am so thankful for all of the prayers and love I have received from them during my cancer battles. ESPN has been family to me and has given me a life that has been even better than my dreams. To the Vitale family, ESPN is 'Awesome, baby' with a capital A!'
Over his career, Vitale, 86, developed a reputation as an energetic and boisterous broadcasters who has coined a number of catchphrases.
In 2021, Vitale announced he was diagnosed with lymphoma. He missed most of the season while dealing with the disease. Vitale announced he was cancer-free in 2022. After dealing with vocal-chord issues, Vitale announced in 2023 he was dealing with vocal-chord cancer.
He announced he was cancer-free in January, and ready to return to ESPN. He was able to call games near the end of the college-basketball season, and said he was hoping to return next season.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
WNBA Commissioner's Cup on Hulu + Live TV: How to Watch Chicago Sky vs. New York Liberty Live Online
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. With the WNBA Commissioner's Cup in full swing, the league pits conference rivals against each throughout the month of June in an in-season tournament to see which teams will make make it to the WNBA Commissioner's Cup Final on Tuesday, July 1. More from Variety Disney Closes Hulu Deal With Comcast, Paying Billions Less Than NBCU Was Seeking NBA Finals 2025 Livestream: How to Watch Game 2 Online Without Cable for Free Junto Nakatani vs. Ryosuke Nishida Livestream: How to Watch Top Rank Boxing Event Online For the second week of the tournament, Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky face off against Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Tuesday, June 10. The WNBA game tips off at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ESPN. watch Sky vs. Liberty Online with Hulu + Live TV Looking to watch the WNBA Commissioner's Cup game online? Hulu + Live TV includes ESPN, which means you'll be able to livestream the game. It also includes ESPN2, ABC, CBS, CBS Sports Network and other networks for even more WNBA action. Additionally, the streaming service has a 3-day free trial, while Hulu + Live TV starts at $82.99/month. With the streaming service, you'll get access to all of Hulu's award-winning original shows, thousands of movies on-demand and access to both Disney+ and ESPN+ through its bundled package. Meanwhile, Hulu + Live TV's built-in live guide makes it easy to find ESPN in your lineup, and add-ons like extra screens and enhanced DVR let you record the entire season if you'd rather watch at your own pace. It's a seamless way to keep up with the tournament as it progresses — and with competitors this sharp, you'll want to see every clue as it's revealed. WNBA Commissioner's Cup 2025: The Chicago Sky vs. New York Liberty game broadcasts on ESPN via Hulu + Live TV with tipoff at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. watch Sky vs. Liberty Online with Hulu + Live TV Best of Variety 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Bryson DeChambeau returns to defend U.S. Open title as golf's YouTube king
OAKMONT, Pa. — Bryson DeChambeau returns to the 2025 U.S. Open as the defending champion and golf's YouTube king, at least among the pro ranks. From his 2 million YouTube fans watching him try to "Break 50" with the likes of Donald Trump, various influencers and athletes to joining Johnson Wagner as he tried to reproduce his remarkable bunker shot at 18 at Pinehurst No. 2 during Golf Channel's "Live From," people love DeChambeau's content creation. The latest example was on display at Oakmont, site of this week's 125th U.S. Open, when DeChambeau showed up for a practice round on May 31 and filmed every shot. It was riveting stuff that no other player had done before. 'He's done a heck of a job using social media channels to connect with viewers, connect with golfers, and show his true personality because I think he probably didn't do a great job of that early on in his career,' NBC's Kevin Kisner said. ESPN's Scott Van Pelt took his analysis of DeChambeau's reboot as a YouTube star – he's got nearly 3 million Instagram followers and another 2 million on TikTok, too – one step further. 'I think he's now kind of figured out where he wants to be. He's almost reinvented himself in some ways,' he said. 'He's grown as a human, it seems to me. Last year he came and sat down in the Butler Cabin with me on Thursday and Friday, and he's been sort of this — he's played very different characters in a movie. It's almost like he's been many different versions of himself. 'And when he sat and visited with me last year, I just remarked to a number of people, he just seems like a different guy. He seems more at ease with himself. I don't know if it's the tour he plays, I don't know if it's just part of growing up, which is part of all of our lives, but he seemed comfortable, entirely comfortable with himself.' DeChambeau, 31, finally is becoming comfortable in his own skin, and YouTube has helped him let his guard down, he said, 'showing the fans a side of me that was locked up for so long.' 'What's funny is as much as my guard has been let down, I feel like I'm more strategic in how I deliver things and how I give perspective on things. Before, I was pretty up front and would just say things the way I wanted to whenever I wanted to,' he explained. 'Now it's more strategic in the way I do it and deliver it because I think there's a lot of good that can come from that.' DeChambeau has said he's taken a page out of the playbook of MrBeast, whose viral content are the most-watched videos on YouTube. Asked whether any of his peers have turned to him for advice on how to launch a YouTube channel, DeChambeau highlighted Phil Mickelson. Lefty said he'd always seen what he called the playful, fun, intelligent and interesting side of DeChambeau. 'He's able to showcase that and not have who he is be filtered by a middle person,' Mickelson said. 'He controls what content he puts out there and what he wants to shoot and so forth. So his personality comes out. It's been remarkable to see the evolution of it and the way the public has responded to him because he's always been like that. It just hasn't been able to be noticed, I guess, properly.' In discussing the tips he has passed along to Mickelson, DeChambeau said he reads the comments section and tries to give the people what they want. 'We've grown our channel to over 2 million followers now and couldn't be more thankful, and it's literally by listening to the comments section, by looking at the comments and seeing what they want,' he said. Major champion. Long driver. YouTube star. A case could be made that the latter has become what drives DeChambeau. 'It's a new space. I'm learning how to become a little bit more entertaining,' he said. 'It's not just golf, golf, golf, trying to win every really what gets me up in the morning and gives me a lot of passion for this game." This article originally appeared on Golfweek: U.S. Open 2025: Bryson DeChambeau, the YouTube star at Oakmont
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
ESPN Confirms Deion Sanders Is Dealing With Health Issue
Deion Sanders is currently away from the University of Colorado program while dealing with an illness. USA TODAY reported Monday that Sanders has been sidelined at his estate in Texas with "an unspecified health issue" as Colorado's annual football camps got underway in Boulder. ESPN's Heather Dinich confirmed as much Tuesday morning. A timetable for the 57-year-old Sanders' return is unknown, Dinich said. On Sunday, Deion Sanders Jr., the coach's eldest son, said on a YouTube livestream that his dad was "feeling well." 'He'll tell y'all soon enough what he going through, what he went through,' the younger Sanders said. 'When we get back in Boulder, I don't know. I'm waiting until my dad leaves. When he leaves, then I'll go. Until then, I'm gonna sit here with him.' Sanders also canceled a previously scheduled speaking engagement on June 8 in Florida due to "an unavoidable last-minute scheduling change." The NFL Hall of Famer was scheduled to address the Sickle Cell Disease Research and Educational Symposium, who replaced him with NBA legend Magic Johnson. In May, the Colorado head coach alluded to health problems during a podcast conversation with former NFL cornerback Asante Samuel, though he did not go into much detail. This is not the first time Sanders has dealt with health-related issues. In 2022, he had two toes on his left foot removed due to complications from blood clots that developed after a previous surgery. In 2023, he missed Pac-12 media day after another procedure to relieve clots in both legs. Colorado is coming off a 9-4 mark in Sanders' second campaign at the school. The Buffaloes will open up the 2025 season at home against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29. ESPN Confirms Deion Sanders Is Dealing With Health Issue first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 10, 2025
