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Few figures can bring together college basketball quite like Dick Vitale. That proved to be the case on Saturday afternoon in Lawrence, when Kansas fans and Indiana supporters joined forces to celebrate the beloved broadcaster.
Early in the afternoon game between the Jayhawks and the Hoosiers, fans of both storied programs gave Vitale—who was on the call for ESPN—a standing ovation. Almost the entire arena was on its feet to celebrate the 83-year-old color commentator.
Vitale, who returned to broadcasting for the network earlier this season after stepping away last year due to a lymphoma diagnosis and dysplasia on his vocal cords, was noticeably emotional upon seeing the touching gesture from the crowd in Allen Fieldhouse.
After the lymphoma diagnosis in Oct. 2021, the 83-year-old also learned that he had dysplasia on his vocal cords in December of last year, which forced him to step away from his role with ESPN. Vitale ended up missing nearly the entire 2021–22 college basketball season.
In August, Vitale declared that he was “cancer free.” The longtime broadcaster returned to the sideline this November to call a matchup between Kentucky and Michigan State in the 2022 Champions Classic.
Vitale said on that broadcast, “Thank you, thank you, thank you, to so many who encouraged me and inspired me to really battle, and to win that battle.”
