BRISTOL, Conn — Longtime ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale said on social media he has been diagnosed with cancer for a fourth time.
Vitale announced Friday that a biopsy of a lymph node in his neck showed cancer. He is scheduled to have surgery Tuesday.
“With all the (prayers) I have received & the loving support of my family, friends and ESPN colleagues, I will win this battle,” Vitale said on X, formerly Twitter.
The 85-year-old Vitale has previously been treated for melanoma and lymphoma. He also had six weeks of radiation treatments last year when tests revealed he had vocal cord cancer.
Vitale has been with ESPN since 1979, the year the network launched. The former coach called ESPN’s first college basketball broadcast. He’s also a longtime fundraiser for cancer research.
Vitale helped friend Jim Valvano to the stage at the 1993 ESPYs, where Valvano delivered his famous “Don’t give up” speech. Valvano died of adenocarcinoma less than two months later.