Dick Vitale was born and raised in East Rutherford. He graduated from Seton Hall University and coached basketball at Garfield High Schoolmdash;his alma mater East Rutherford High Schoolmdash;and Rutgers University (assistant coach). Vitale joined ESPN soon after its launch in 1979 and serves as the primary college basketball analyst. Vitale has called close to 1,000 games and his enthusiastic broadcast style has introduced many “Vitale-isms” that are now household phrases including “Awesome Baby,” “PTP’er” (prime-time player), “Diaper Dandy” (freshman star), and “All-Windex Performer” (ferocious rebounder). In 2008, Vitale received the sport’s ultimate honor when he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor.

Intro/Acceptance Video