- May 4, 2026
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It was the news Lakewood Ranch’s Dick Vitale didn't want to hear. As a four-time cancer survivor, he didn’t rule out the possibility, but by no means expected it.
The legendary college basketball broadcaster had been cancer-free since December 2024 until a quarterly PET scan April 3 identified some abnormalities.
One phone call from his doctor, relaying the subsequent biopsy report, rocked him.
“It brought me to big-time tears, because I didn’t expect it,” Vitale said. “I feel fantastic. I feel that nothing bothers me — nothing. I feel probably the best I’ve felt in ages.”
Curveball.
That’s the word his doctor used before giving Vitale his fifth cancer diagnosis in six years. The biopsy confirmed melanoma in his lung and liver cavity.
Vitale recounted the emotions of his ongoing fight during the 21st annual Dick Vitale Gala for pediatric cancer research, benefiting the V Foundation, on May 1 at the Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota.
He put off immunotherapy treatment to ensure his presence at the gala, sparing himself from any side effects.
This year’s gala raised $21 million, eclipsing last year’s total of $12 million by multiple millions. Vitale’s efforts have now raised over $126 million for pediatric cancer research since the gala’s inception.
The 86-year-old’s biggest piece of advice for children battling cancer, “Think positive and have faith,” has become his own guiding light.
“He’s the real deal,” said Jamie Valvano, who received the John Saunders Courage Award. “This is not smoke and mirrors. This isn’t just something we do once a year. He’s family, and he’s just a special, special human being. I love him so much, because I wouldn’t be here without him.”
Valvano sat in the audience at the 1993 ESPY Awards to watch her father, Jim Valvano, accept the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage Award. That was the night he announced his co-founding of the V Foundation alongside ESPN.
She watched Vitale help her father — suffering from adenocarcinoma — up and down the steps to the stage, so that he could give his now-famed acceptance speech.
Jim Valvano died eight weeks later. Carrying on his legacy, Vitale has dedicated himself to pediatric cancer research.
In the U.S., about 9,680 children ages 0-14 will be diagnosed with cancer by the end of this year, per the American Cancer Society. Just 4% of government-allocated cancer research funds, per the National Cancer Institute, are put toward pediatric cancer.
The money raised over the past two decades of Vitale’s gala has supported 264 research grants through the V Foundation.
“He’s one of those unique individuals who has the ability to rally people around a cause,” said Geno Auriemma, the Connecticut women’s basketball coach. “Not everybody has the passion to follow through on what they say… He puts his time and effort into the things he believes in.”
This year, Auriemma was one of those people Vitale rallied. So were fellow honorees Katie Couric and Kelvin Sampson. Michigan State men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo received the Dick Vitale Spirit Award.
Sports celebrities packed the ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton, gathering to give their dollars to the cause. Duke and Arkansas men’s basketball coaches Jon Scheyer and John Calipari, respectively, were in attendance, as were Frank Thomas and emcee Kevin Negandhi.
The gala is Vitale’s big dance — his national championship. He doesn’t call as many games as he used to work throughout a Hall-of-Fame career spanning 46 years with ESPN. Since 2005, he has poured himself into fundraising for pediatric cancer research.
When he calls on his connections in college basketball and beyond, encouraging them to support his cause in-person, they just can’t say no.
“We want to do it for him, because we understand how important it is to him,” Izzo said. “And then you learn how important it is to you as your family members go through (cancer). This is a labor of love. That’s why everybody’s here.”
Izzo’s mother, Dorothy Izzo, is approaching her 100th birthday and battling a "little bit of cancer," per Izzo. Sampson lost his own mother, Eva Sampson, to cancer in 2014.
Auriemma attended a celebration of life for Norman Myers, the husband of one of his longtime assistants, only a few weeks ago following Myers’ death from brain cancer.
On April 20, Vitale received a message from Emily Ayers, one of his All-Courageous Kids — 15 survivors of pediatric cancer who attended this year’s gala. She was diagnosed with leukemia at 7 years old in 2016, and beat it.
Excerpts of that message were recited by ESPN Executive Vice President of Communications Josh Krulewitz to open the evening’s press conference.
Ayers, sitting in the front row, was asked to stand while her words were read aloud.
“I always say that in order to achieve something, you have to have a team behind you that supports and loves you,” read part of Ayers’ message. “That’s exactly what you and the V Foundation are to us kids. Now it’s our turn to reverse the roles, support and be there for you during your own battle.”
Vitale was brought to tears when he first read her message. His eyes welled up again when he heard them May 1, sitting across from 15 different examples that pediatric cancer research — his unrelenting passion — can, in fact, save lives.
He closed the press conference with words of his own, detailing the moment he received his melanoma diagnosis.
And he made a promise.
“I’m going to win that battle,” said a choked-up Vitale. “I swear to you, I’m going to win that battle.”
