Dick Vitale gets ESPN contract extension, event named in his honor on 86th birthday

Today is Dick Vitale’s 86th birthday, and the legendary broadcaster got quite a present from his employer. ESPN just announced the creation of the Dick Vitale Invitational, a new men’s college basketball event that will take place in his honor each year, and a new multi-year contract extension that will keep him on the airwaves through the 2027-28 season. The news comes almost one month after Vitale announced that he is cancer-free following his latest battle with the disease, which kept him off the college basketball sidelines for nearly two years.

“Dick is the heart of college basketball, and his kindness, generosity and courage are a constant inspiration to us all,” said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro in a press release. “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.”

The news of Vitale’s contract extension only went public today, but Vitale said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro told him about it at the annual Dick Vitale Gala on May 2.

“Jimmy surprised me at my Gala with the news. He gets up in front of the crowd and he says, ‘Hey Dick, I want you to know this. I looked up your contract and you’ve got one year left. Well, you know what, you don’t have one year anymore. We’re going to add two years to give you three more.’ That will take me to 49 years at ESPN. I want to work 50 years here and then I want to be the first guy to do a game when I’m 100 years old. That’s not that far off! It’s only 14 years away! I’m going to be there – don’t laugh at me!”

Duke and Texas will face off in the inaugural Dick Vitale Invitational this upcoming season on November 4 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC. As you might expect, Vitale thinks having an annual college basketball event named after him is awesome, baby!

“I couldn’t believe it when I got the call from ESPN. They said, ‘We want to have a big game called the Dick Vitale Invitational.’ I said, ‘Are you serious?!’ All of the people at ESPN, starting with Jimmy Pitaro, and all of my friends and colleagues have been so great to me especially with my recent battles with cancer. They’ve been by my side from day one and to do this is unbelievable. Long after I’m gone, to still have a game out there with my name attached to it? Wow, that is truly unbelievable!”

Maybe one day Kentucky will play in the Dickie V Invitational (everyone will eventually call it that, right?); until then, let’s just get Vitale back to Rupp Arena for a game. Last season, he sat alongside Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes for Kentucky’s game vs. Alabama in Tuscaloosa, a 96-83 loss. It was only Vitale’s third game back on the sidelines and not quite the introduction to the Mark Pope era we would have liked for Dickie V. Thanks to today’s news, there will be more opportunities on the horizon.