Dick Vitale announces his return for the 2023-24 college basketball season amid cancer battle
Vitale has been battling vocal cord cancer
www.cbssports.com
Vitale has been battling vocal cord cancer
By Chris Bengel
Dick Vitale will be returning to the broadcasting table for the upcoming season. The legendary college basketball announcer announced on Monday that he will be returning for the 2023-24 season.
Vitale, who is currently battling vocal cord cancer, will call his first game on November 28 when he is courtside for Miami/Kentucky.
"November 28, I'm planning to do my first game, Miami–Kentucky, with all the guys down in Kentucky," Vitale said in a video on Monday.
"I hope and pray I can be there. I plan on being there, and I plan on [speaking] in moderation up until that time," Vitale said. "I love all of you and I thank all of you for your prayers and your unbelievable love you've sent me. It meant so much to me. I tell you, It's been tough. It's been tough. I just say have faith. Think positive and I've tried to do that. God bless all of you."
In July 2023, Vitale revealed that he had been diagnosed with laryngeal cancer and would undergo radiation.
"Dick had gone through a number of procedures to manage the disease and then, over time, he did require radiotherapy, which is completed now. He's done remarkably well," Vitale's doctor Dr. Steven Zeitels said in a statement. "The tissues are all healed. At this point, he can start using his voice, he'll see how long it takes to recover.
Vitale, 84, has been calling college basketball games since the late 1970s.
