One of the most accomplished and well-known basketball commentators of all time is not going anywhere, at least for a few more years. Get ready folks, because you are going to be hearing that iconic, raspy-toned voice of Dickie V for a long time.
According to ESPN Media Zone, the legendary basketball commentator and basketball hall of famer has signed a contract extension through the 2017-2018 basketball season.
This comes on the heels of the announcement that Vitale had signed an extension through the 2017 season back in October. The final year in his new contract will be Vitae’s thirty-ninth season as a commentator for ESPN.
Vitale will continue to regularly call top games for the basketball season on both ESPN and ESPN2 as well as the NCAA Men’s Final Four for ESPN International.
“I am so proud to be part of the ESPN team,” Vitale said in the official press release. “They have become my second family and have been a vital part of my life. It has been nothing but pure happiness working with the beautiful people at ESPN and I can’t thank them enough as they’ve been responsible for so many of the glorious days I’ve had in my life.”
Vitale joined ESPN in its initial launch for the basketball scene in 1979 and called the first ever major-NCAA basketball game televised by the company, Wisconsin vs DePaul, a game that the latter team won 90-77. He joined ESPN after a successful college coaching career at the University of Detroit and has now called more than 1,000 games.
Vitale is not only known for his loud and crazy antics on the headset for ESPN, but he has also been honored for his work with The V Foundation for Cancer Research and the Boys and Girls Club of America.
Vitale will be always known as one of the great color commentators, a phrase for which he is credited as being first called, in sports history. I guess there is only thing left to say. “Yeah baby!!!”
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
