STWF Sports | Dec. 2, 2025 – Two icons, two Hall of Famers, and two of the most recognizable voices in basketball are finally sharing a broadcast booth. ESPN announced Monday that Dick Vitale and Charles Barkley will team up to call No. 25 Indiana vs. No. 19 Kentucky on Saturday, December 13 — a primetime rivalry matchup befitting a pairing more than a decade in the making.
Vitale and Barkley, both enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, have spent decades shaping the sound and culture of the sport. But remarkably, this will be the first time ever that the two legends call a game together.
“This is awesome, baby,” would be the obvious reaction from Vitale — and ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus echoed the excitement in the network’s announcement.
“Dick and Charles are two of the most entertaining and iconic voices in basketball, so having them together on the same broadcast is a true gift for fans,” Magnus said. “We are thrilled to have it come to fruition, especially for a marquee college basketball rivalry like Indiana–Kentucky in primetime.”
A LONG-AWAITED PAIRING
For more than 45 years, Dick Vitale has been the soundtrack of college basketball. Since joining ESPN in 1979, he has called more than 1,000 games, becoming synonymous with the sport through his signature phrases — “PTPer!,” “Diaper Dandy!,” and of course, “Awesome baby!”
Vitale’s passion, energy, and unmatched ability to turn any broadcast into a celebration of college basketball have made him a beloved figure. And now, after decades of declining opportunities to call an NCAA Tournament game, Vitale has finally agreed to step behind the mic for March Madness as well.
“Dick has meant so much to the game of basketball, and we have long felt he deserved an opportunity to call an NCAA Men’s Tournament game,” said CBS Executive Vice President Harold Bryant. “Having him call the game with Charles will be must-see TV.”
For Barkley, the partnership is a dream years in the making. In 2013, during a joint interview with Sports Illustrated, Barkley even declared it a career goal.
“I told these guys one of my goals is to do a game with Dick Vitale,” Barkley said at the time. “He has been great for college basketball. It’d be good for the game.”
Vitale echoed the sentiment: “Both of us have a love for the game, and it would be a lot of fun. You never know what will come out of his mouth, and I like to think my energy and enthusiasm would jump out with Charles.”
Twelve years later, the duo finally gets its moment.
TWO NETWORKS, ONE MASSIVE MOMENT
Barkley’s presence on ESPN broadcasts is unusual but possible because of the ongoing media agreement between ESPN and TNT. With TNT licensing Inside the NBA rights to ESPN in exchange for Big 12 football and basketball, Barkley can appear across both networks.
Barkley joked earlier this year that ESPN’s expanded rights might add too much to his workload.
“Listen, if they start trying to work me too much between ESPN and TNT, I’m just going to walk on home,” Barkley quipped back in June.
Despite the humor, his enthusiasm to work with Vitale never wavered.
A PRIMETIME SHOWCASE FOR THE AGES
Indiana vs. Kentucky is already one of the sport’s fierce and storied rivalries. But this year, the on-court fireworks may take a backseat — at least briefly — to the dynamic duo narrating the action.
A beloved broadcaster whose passion has carried generations of college hoops fans, and a charismatic analyst whose humor and candor have made him one of the most popular personalities in sports media — together at last.
It may have taken more than a decade, but for fans of basketball broadcasting, this collaboration is simply… awesome, baby.
