The new event will honor legendary broadcaster Dick Vitale.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — ESPN and the Charlotte Sports Foundation announced the creation of a new college basketball event honoring legendary broadcaster Dick Vitale.
The inaugural Dick Vitale Invitational will feature two of college basketball’s biggest broads, the Duke Blue Devils and Texas Longhorns, at Spectrum Center in Uptown Charlotte on Nov. 4. The annual event will pay tribute to Vitale, the 86-year-old broadcaster who’s become a college basketball icon as part of ESPN’s coverage. The new event will replace the Jumpman Invitational, which won’t return to the Queen City in 2025.
“We are thrilled to host the inaugural Dick Vitale Invitational in Charlotte,” Charlotte Sports Foundation CEO Will Pitts said. “Bringing together two powerhouse programs like Texas and Duke is an incredible way to kick off this new tradition.”
The game between Duke and Texas is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 4 and will be broadcast on ESPN. Tip-off time hasn’t been announced yet.
The news comes as ESPN announced that Vitale, who recently revealed he was cancer-free, celebrates his 86th birthday with a contract extension, according to the AP. Vitale, who coached in college and the NBA, has been with ESPN since 1979, and is widely recognized as the network’s face of college basketball.
“ESPN has been such a vital part of my life since December 5, 1979, and I was so thrilled to learn that ESPN Events will have an annual Dick Vitale Invitational,” Vitale said. “Jimmy Pitaro and all my colleagues and friends at ESPN have been so good to me and I am so thankful for all of the prayers and love I have received from them during my cancer battles. ESPN has been family to me and has given me a life that has been even better than my dreams. To the Vitale family, ESPN is ‘Awesome, baby’ with a capital A!”
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