Dick Vitale to be honored in first appearance since stepping away for treatment

The SEC plans to honor college basketball legend Dick Vitale at its conference tournament, associate commissioner Dan Leibovitz tweeted. The ESPN color commentator was diagnosed with cancer last year, forcing him to take the past month off as he goes through treatment.

Dick Vitale tweeted a response to the news that he is being honored, confirming he plans to be in Tampa on March 12 for the SEC Tournament semifinals.

“Thank you Greg Sankey and the SEC as I plan to be (at the) SEC semifinals March 12,” Vitale wrote. “It’s so nice of Dan Leibovitz and staff to think of me. Heck, I have a better record than Coach K. I have coached 43 years on ESPN … and I’m like 1,000-0.”

Vitale had surgery on his vocal chords on Feb. 16, and has spent the past week recovering. He had to remain overnight for monitoring following surgery, a challenging three-hour operation. The doctors successfully carried out the procedure to treat a severe form of dysplasia, Carcinoma in Situ, on his vocal cords.

Vitale shared several months ago that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma, just months after revealing that he had been diagnosed with melanoma. The college basketball world was sent into shock at the news that Vitale had been diagnosed with a second form of cancer so soon after his melanoma diagnosis. The former NBA coach underwent multiple surgeries to remove melanoma, which is now clear. Vitale has been told by doctors that the two cancers are unrelated. Ever since, Vitale has received love and support from coaches, athletes and journalists alike.

The surgery came several weeks after the beloved ESPN color commentator announced that he would be taking a break from calling games and making television appearances for the remainder of the 2021-22 season. Vitale plans to make a complete comeback for next season.

“Now, it is mandatory that I continue total voice rest for the next four weeks to help the healing process – doc’s orders,” Vitale previously wrote. “However, he feels optimistic that if I follow his plan [which I will] that he will get me back court side to do what I truly love – talking college hoops for ESPN during the 2022-23 season. A big THANK YOU to Dr. Zeitels and his staff and many others at Mass General for caring for me in such a professional manner. Dr. Z and all involved in my surgery and treatment were “Awesome Baby” with a capital ‘A.’”

The SEC Tournament is set to tip off March 9 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Although Dick Vitale will be simply a spectator as he is honored by the conference, he has clear intention to get back to calling games as soon as he is able.

On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this report.