Dick Vitale will be honored during semifinals of SEC Tournament

Dick Vitale won’t be returning to the broadcasting sidelines this season, but you can guarantee he’ll be around plenty of postseason basketball.

The longtime ESPN sportscaster recently announced that he’ll be at the Southeastern Conference Tournament during the semifinals as the league intends to honor him for his historic career. Vitale tweeted out that he plans to be in Tampa Bay on Saturday, March 12, where the SEC will recognize him at some point during the day.

Hopefully, the Kentucky Wildcats will be in attendance to help cheer him on. We know Kellan Grady will be eager to bust out the classic Dick Vitale-isms.

THANK YOU @GregSankey & @SEC as I plan to be @SEC semi finals March 12 ! It’s so nice of the @DLeibovitzSEC & staff to think of me. Heck I have a better record than Coach K. I have coached 43 yrs on @espn UK-Duke-UNC-UCLA- KANSAS etc & I’m like 1000-0! @TheMontagGroup @ESPNPR https://t.co/uXxTrxG9DJ

— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) February 25, 2022

Previously undergoing treatment for lymphoma and melanoma, Vitale was cleared in November to call games the remainder of the season, his 43rd overall at ESPN. However, back in January, the 82-year-old announced he would be unable to finish out the year as a result of his most recent Dysplasia diagnosis.

“I had my scheduled follow-up visit today with Dr. Steven Zeitels, a leading throat specialist, who had diagnosed me with Dysplasia on the vocal cords a few weeks ago and ordered me to rest my ailing voice,” Vitale announced in an official release. “Well, today, Dr. Z. delivered the news that even though the rest really helped, I need to give my voice an even longer “T.O., Baby!” And there is no doubt I will soon need surgery to solve my Dysplasia and ulcerated lesions of the vocal cords.

“So, while I’m heartbroken that I won’t appear on ESPN for the rest of this season, I’m encouraged by the progress. In fact, it appears that by resting my voice for the past three weeks, I’ve reduced the inflammation by 60 percent. Let’s hope the added rest will help it heal some more, and things will look even better when I go for my next follow-up visit on Feb. 16. Once the inflammation heals, we will set a date for surgery.”

From there, though, Vitale expects to return to the broadcast booth the entirety of the 2022-23 college basketball season.

We’ll see you soon, Dickie V!