College basketball fans will have to wait a little bit longer to hear their favorite ESPN analyst back on the air.
While Dick Vitale announced that his vocal cord cancer “is gone” on Monday, but that his return to the broadcast booth would have to wait a little bit longer.
The Hall of Famer had originally planned on coming back by the end of this month, but after consulting with his doctor, it was decided that he needed to rest his voice some more.
“While I’m disappointed with the latest developments, I remain hopeful,” Vitale said in a statement released through ESPN. “The cancer is gone, which is amazing news, yet the impact of the treatments has taken its toll on my voice and requires more healing.”
Vitale, 84, had been diagnosed with cancer in July and had undergone six weeks of radiation treatments before being told to rest his voice.
A date for his return has not been set.
“With the season started, I am jumping out of my shoes to be back in the college basketball arenas, calling the game I love and being around so many great colleagues and fans,” Vitale said. “I have to listen to the medical experts, who have been so good to me, and with some more rest, I know I will be back for my 45th season. I’ve been so touched by the amazing response I’ve received.”
The college basketball season is still in the early days, which gives Vitale plenty of time to make his way back on air.
Vitale has been a staple on The World Wide Leader in Sports since its inception in 1979 and was part of the network’s first-ever college basketball broadcast.
The vocal cancer was the beloved broadcaster’s third bought of cancer in as many years, first being diagnosed with melanoma in 2021 and then receiving a lymphoma diagnosis a few months later.
Vitale made an emotional return to the air in November of 2021 – a month after the lymphoma diagnosis – as he thanked his well-wishers and broke down in tears at the fact that he was well enough to be calling the game.
The broadcaster was cancer-free by August 2022, but had to undergo surgery for vocal cord dysplasia that same year.
“Dick has the full support of his entire ESPN family, and, while we look forward to a return to his rightful courtside perch, he needs to focus on fully mending his vocal cords,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “Sports fans everywhere will anxiously await his comeback whenever he is ready.”