Dick Vitale is one of the most legendary college basketball broadcasters in history, if not the most legendary, but back in 2015, the well-known color commentator was told he would no longer be calling the famous UNC-Duke rivalry games, a matchup he has called since 1979. While Vitale never made his feelings public on the matter, it is now coming out from those close to him that he reportedly was deeply hurt by the move.
Back in 2015, Vitale was removed from calling the famous rivalry game and replaced by ESPN's Jay Bilas, a decision made by then-ESPN president John Skipper. It was also reported that Vitale tried to get back on the game on the night he was being inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame by asking ESPN executive Georgia Bodenheimer about it, but he wasn't aware he was no longer working for ESPN.
It has been 10 years since Vitale called the rivalry matchup, and now, even at 86 and multiple battles with cancer, Vitale is still a big part of ESPN's college basketball coverage team, known for some of his most famous sayings of "Awesome, Baby!" and "Dipsy-doo Dunk-a-roo."
Vitale started his career coaching high school basketball and then moved on to college and even had a short stint in the NBA coaching the Pistons; however, he found his love of broadcasting and was hired by ESPN, calling his first UNC-Duke matchup in 1979. For 36 years, Vitale called the rivalry matchup, and fans everywhere were excited to hear him on the mic.
After a battle with cancer and announcing he was cancer-free in December of 2024, Vitale was back calling college basketball on February 8, calling the Duke-Clemson matchup. Who knows when Vitale will decide to officially retire, but it certainly would be nice to hear him call one last UNC-Duke matchup before he does.