ESPN Makes Exciting Announcement on Texas, Duke
ESPN Makes Exciting Announcement on Texas, Duke originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Dick Vitale has been one of the biggest and most iconic voices in college basketball, with plenty of unforgettable moments and big games taking place with him in the booth.
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The ESPN team has announced on June 9, Vitale's 86th birthday, a new invitational to take place annually that will honor Vitale.
Starting in the 2025 season, the Dick Vitale Invitational will be an annual event between two big collegiate programs, and the inaugural game will take place between the Texas Longhorns and Duke Blue Devils.
The inaugural game between the two historic programs will be at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina on Tuesday, November 4. The tip-off time yet to be announced.
ESPN analyst Dick Vitale.© Randy Sartin-Imagn Images
'Dick is the heart of college basketball, and his kindness, generosity and courage are a constant inspiration to us all,' said Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN. 'Through the creation of the Dick Vitale Invitational, we will celebrate him and his profound impact on the sport. We are also thrilled that Dick will remain a signature voice on ESPN through the 2027-28 season.'
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New head coach of the Longhorns Sean Miller will have one of his first big games being against Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils, coming off a crushing Final Four defeat, but have reloaded in a big way for the 2025 season.
Duke has the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, with notable recruits in Cameron and Cayden Boozer, the sons of Duke legend Carlos Boozer. Add on four-star forward Nikolas Khamenia and their returning players, Duke will more than likely be a top five team in the country all season long.
Texas on the other hand ranks No. 63 in their recruiting class. Mainly due to only securing two commits, one of which being four-star forward John Clark. They have five transfers coming into Austin, Texas, all of which are also four-stars.
Miller has two Xavier players following him to the SEC, and has built a roster that is going to be competitive in a very tough conference.
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The matchup between these two teams will give both teams a great idea of how their season will look before diving into the trenches of ACC and SEC play for the two schools.
Related: Texas to Host No. 1 QB Recruit Who Also Stars in Basketball
Related: SEC Powerhouse Lands 7-Foot-1 International Prospect
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
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