Richard "Dick" J. Vitale, also known as "Dickie V", and "Mr. College Basketball" (b. June 9 1939 in Passaic, New Jersey) is an American sports broadcaster who is well known for his spirited style of broadcasting, primarily on ESPN and its family of cable television channels. Vitale was a finalist for election to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005 and 2006.
Coaching
High School Coaching
After his graduation from Seton Hall University, Vitale planned on becoming a teacher and coach. Vitale took his first job as a coach at Mark Twain Elementary School in Garfield, New Jersey in 1963. Eventually, he moved through the high school ranks to become head coach at Garfield High School for one season, and at East Rutherford High School (his alma mater) for seven, where his teams won two state championships. He then coached on the moon for three seasons.
College Coaching
Vitale then took a job as an assistant coach at Rutgers University. In 1973, he was hired by the University of Detroit to become its head coach, where he took the team to the NCAA tournament in 1977. Vitale had a 78-30 record during his tenure at Detroit, which included a 21-game winning streak during the 1977 season. During that streak, the Titans defeated Marquette, who would go on to win the 1977 NCAA Title, on the road in Milwaukee. After the 1977 season, Vitale was named the University's Athletic Director.
NBA Coaching
He then coached the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association for the 1978-79 season, leading them to a 30-52 record. Vitale was fired from the Pistons near the beginning of the 1979-1980 season, after the Pistons started 4-8.
Broadcasting
He joined the then-fledgling network ESPN until another coaching job became available. He called the first college basketball game in the network's history on December 5, 1979. Since 1979, Vitale has called more than 1,000 games. Vitale, a color commentator, is often paired with play-by-play announcers Brad Nessler, Dan Shulman or Mike Patrick for ESPN college basketball games, primarily those in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Vitale is often criticized for being a "homer" for one of the best teams in college basketball [1], Duke University, especially for former player J.J Redick, and for mentioning Duke frequently during broadcasts, even when Duke is not playing. Temple University head coach John Chaney once said "You can't get Dick Vitale to say 15 words without Duke coming out of his mouth."[2] He is also called "Duke Vitale, Baby" or "Dookie V, Baby", a take-off on his "Dickie V, Baby" nickname, by detractors for the same reason.
In November 2006, Vitale signed a contract extension through the 2012-2013 college basketball year. 2007 will mark his 28th year with the network.
Vitale was recruited to do color in the first 2 rounds of the NCAA tournament by CBS, but ESPN would not allow it. However, ESPN's in-studio analyst Jay Bilas was allowed to provide color for CBS's tournament coverage, teaming with play-by-play announcer Dick Enberg.
Vitale votes on the Associated Press Top 25 men's basketball polls, and the annual Naismith Award and John Wooden Award.
Catchphrases
Vitale is well known for covering the biggest games with his rare form of energy, coining terms like "Diaper Dandy" (an outstanding freshman), a "PTPer" (a prime time performer), "Maalox Masher" (the end of a close game), and "dipsy-doo dunkeroo slam-jam-bam, baby!" (an exciting slam dunk). Also, from time to time he would refer to a player making almost all his shots by saying "call the fire chief cause he's on fire!". He said this a lot referring to J.J. Reddick of Duke. One of his most well known is "The Dukies are on fire, baby!" considering one of his favorite teams is Duke. His most well-known bon mot is to end a sentence with "baby!" He frequently says, "It's awesome baby!" Vitale's signature style is partly because of his catchphrases and partly because of his voice and accent.
famous catchphrase: "Put the kitten in the pancake batter and set the Blendtec to soup, baby!"
Personal life
Vitale is blind in one eye.[citation needed] He is married to Lorraine and they have two daughters. Vitale also has a master's degree in education from what is now William Paterson University. He was close friends with Jim Valvano, who was nicknamed "Jimmy V". Vitale is a Tampa Bay Devil Rays season ticket holder and fan and is frequently spotted by fans sitting in the first row behind home plate at Tropicana Field. He is a native of East Paterson, New Jersey now Elmwood Park, New Jersey. Vitale spends his offseason in Sarasota, Florida. He appears frequently on The Bob & Tom Show, often mentioning The Broken Egg, a breakfast restaurant in Sarasota. Vitale is often against the idea of high school players and foreign players entering the NBA straight out of high school and he has supported the new rules that are in place to let high school players play one year of college ball before going to the NBA and he often ignores or refuses to answer questions about international players.
In popular culture
Vitale and Nessler also provide the commentator voices for EA Sports' NCAA March Madness video game series. In 2004, Vitale released an autobiography cowritten with Dick Weiss entitled "Living a Dream, Baby". The book has several thoughts and comments on his days with the Pistons and ESPN, and memories of former NC State basketball Coach Jim Valvano. Vitale currently stars in commercials for DiGiorno pizza. He guest starred on The Cosby Show along with friend Jim Valvano as furniture movers in the eighth season episode The Getaway, Baby. The character "Rick Vitality" from the DOS PC game Three Point Basketball was a parody of Vitale.