Dick Vitale has made a lot of history during his 46-year broadcasting career. He made some more on Dec. 13, when he teamed up for the first time with Charles Barkley to call Kentucky’s 72-60 win over Indiana. The game drew a remarkable 1.96 million viewers for ESPN, making it the network’s most-watched December college basketball game in five years. “And we were going head to head with the Heisman (Trophy ceremony),” Vitale told Hoops HQ a few days later. “Charles treated me like royalty. He could not have been more generous, loving, caring. It was really one of the best experiences of my life.”
Vitale had another great experience on Feb. 8, when he called Clemson’s upset of No. 3 Duke 77-71. Prior to that, he had been sidelined for nearly two years while he recovered from vocal cord cancer. As Vitale strutted into Littlejohn Coliseum that day, he was greeted like the conquering hero he was. He burst into tears the moment the broadcast began. “It was like a miracle to me,” he said. “Every time I do a game now, it’s like a miracle that I’m here because I know what I went through. I had five major surgeries on my vocal cords. I went through six months of chemo. I went through 65 radiation treatments. So when I did that game, I’m saying to myself, I can’t believe I’m sitting here.”
Those moments served as fitting bookends for Vitale’s 2025, but alas, the year ended on a sad note. On Dec. 16, Lucas Ticolo, a seven-year-old Florida boy who was honored on May 2 at Vitale’s 20th annual gala to raise money for pediatric cancer research, died of brain cancer. It was a tragic reminder that for all the victories Vitale has won, he has still fallen short of his ultimate goal of helping science find a cure.
Vitale turned 86 on June 9, but he is still college basketball’s enduring Peter Pan, a child at heart with a warrior’s spirit. For his lifetime of contributions to college basketball, and for the indomitable will and unyielding optimism he showed during 2025, Vitale has been named Hoops HQ’s Person of the Year.
There were several times over the past few years where Vitale thought he might not live to see another day, much less work another game. He was hit with a double whammy in 2021 — a diagnosis of lymphoma in August, and another one for lymphoma in October. (At first he was incorrectly diagnosed with bile duct cancer, an especially lethal form of the disease. Vitale often jokes he never thought he’d be so relieved to find out he “only” had lymphoma.) Vitale recovered from those bouts, but in July 2023 he was diagnosed again with vocal cord cancer, which required extensive radiation treatments. In June 2024, Vitale experienced a recurrence of his lymphoma and had cancerous nodes removed from his neck.
Vitale was declared cancer free, but it took a long time for his vocal cords to recover. He was originally scheduled to call a Duke-Wake Forest game on Jan. 25, but an accident in his home forced him to postpone. When he returned two weeks later, it was his first time behind the mic since April 3, 2023, when he called the NCAA Touranment championship game between UConn and San Diego State for ESPN International.
“I never thought I’d do it again, to be honest with you,” he said. “I love the game. I love being there. I love the thrill of the crowd chanting ‘Dickie V’ and all that stuff. It really makes me feel so good. The fans are great to me. I’m like a little kid, really.”
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Vitale may be a preeminent broadcaster, but his real job — and it is a fulltime job —is raising money for pediatric cancer. The cornerstone is his annual gala in Sarasota, but he spends the rest of his year planning it, organizing it, and working the phones to raise money and support. His wife, Lorraine, puts in many hours in that effort, as do other members of his family. It is exhausting, but when it comes to fighting cancer, Vitale is inexhaustible.
This year’s event raised $12.5 million, bringing the 20-year total to $105 million. Lucas’ death in December drove home how my work remains. “I’m more obsessed than ever to raise money because of what I went through. There were times when I was doing chemo, I didn’t know if I was gonna live the next day,” Vitale said. “I’m proud we’ve raised $105 million. That sounds like a lot of money, but the bottom line is it’s obviously not enough. Lucas should still be alive.”
When you’re a multi-time cancer survivor, the fear of recurrence hangs overhead like a Sword of Damocles. Vitale gets full-body PET scans every few months. Each one is followed by an excuriciating wait of a couple of days until the results come in. “When I see that call is from the doctor and I pick up, I can’t tell you what my heart feels like,” he said. “Two things are gonna happen. Number one, you’re cancer free. Number two, sorry to tell you, Dick, it has come back, we gotta do chemo and radiation. I know a lot of cancer patients will say it’s the same with them.”
In November, Vitale made his 2025-26 season debut at a newly created event called the Dick Vitale Invitational. It was a game between Duke and Texas played in Charlotte. When ESPN announced the event on Vitale’s birthday, it also revealed that he signed a contract extension that will take him through the 2027-28 — although ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro has said on numerous occasions that Vitale can work for the network for as long as he is able. Vitale and Barkley will also call an NCAA Tournament First Four game for truTV.
“The one thing I feel very good about is I feel sharp mentally,” Vitale said. “That’s the only reason I’m doing games now. I wouldn’t go out there and embarrass myself. I’ve made enough money, I’ve got a great life. It’s medicine for me to do those games. It really juices me up.”
Vitale will maintain a moderate schedule, limiting his games to about one per week. He won’t call another one until after the College Football Playoff championship ends in three weeks. He also used to do nonstop radio and podcast interviews, but his surgeon told him to dial that back to one or two short ones per week. Other than that, Vitale has no limitations on his voice, which is welcome relief after going months of having to remain silent and scrawling words on a handheld whiteboard.
The greater challenge is the physical strain of traveling. For many years, Vitale used money from his speaking engagements to pay for private aircraft, but he has had to scale that back since he is no longer speaking. He feels good when he is walking and sitting, but he needs help to stand up. Vitale flew commercial home from the Kentucky-Indiana game and did not want to use a wheelchair in the airport. Part of this is the reality of being 86 years old, but much of it is also the result of his cancer treatments. Vitale was diagnosed with stenosis in his spine, which is adding to the pain in his legs, but he is adamantly against having surgery.
There were other moments of joy for Vitale in 2025. Chief among them was when his twin grandsons graduated from Duke, where they were both on the tennis team. One of his grandsons was roommates with Jerry Seinfeld’s son. The families had dinner together the night before commencement. Vitale has another grandson who is a senior lacrosse player at Notre Dame. His youngest granddaughter is a sophomore tennis player at Duke. “One of my goals in life is to be able to see every one of my grandkids graduate from college,” he said. “I hope and pray that I’m there.”
Asked what he wishes for 2026, Vitale replied, “Health, happiness and stay cancer free.” Here’s hoping that wish comes true, not just for him but for the rest of us, too. Whenever Dickie V is behind a microphone, it’s a special experience for everyone.
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