Why Dick Vitale, Charles Barkley are calling Texas-NC State First Four March Madness game originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
As the NCAA tournament kicks off on Tuesday night, fans will be surprised to see an unexpected pair calling a First Four game.
Advertisement
When Texas and NC State play for a chance to enter the field of 64, Brian Anderson, Charles Barkley and Dick Vitale will be the announcing team for truTV. Barkley is usually a studio analyst this time of year, while Vitale is usually home since ESPN doesn’t call the men’s tournament, but they will come together for just the second time.
The trio of Anderson, Barkley and Vitale will call only one of the four games on Tuesday and Wednesday, as Jordan Kent and Jim Spanarkel will broadcast the other three contests. Additionally, Jenny Dell will be the sideline reporter for all four First Four games.
Here’s why Barkley and Vitale are calling a First Four game together.
MARCH MADNESS HQ:Live NCAA bracket | TV schedule | Printable bracket
Advertisement
Why Dick Vitale, Charles Barkley are calling Texas-NC State First Four March Madness game
After ESPN added “Inside the NBA”for the 2025-26 NBA season, the network had Barkley call a game with Dick Vitale in college basketball. That game, which was Kentucky vs. Indiana at Rupp Arena, was the first time the pair worked together on a game.
In return, Vitale will now join Barkley on truTV’s coverage of the NC State vs. Texas First Four game, as Barkley is a consistent contributor during the NCAA tournament.
“This is happening because he worked a game on ESPN. Now I’m doing back the favor and giving them a game on their network,” Vitale said, via the Associated Press.
Vitale, who is a lifelong ESPN employee, was a studio analyst on ESPN’s coverage of the NCAA tournament before CBS took over in the 1990s. Therefore, Vitale has never called an NCAA tournament game as an analyst in his career, even though CBS offered him the opportunity several times.
Advertisement
“I had been offered chances in the last few years,” Vitale said. “Sean McManus would call and say, ‘You shouldn’t end your career without doing an NCAA game, and we’ll let you do it on CBS.’ I appreciated it so much, but I told him the one thing I wanted on my resume was that I worked my entire career at ESPN. He was surprised but said he respected that.”
Barkley has long been an admirer of Vitale, and he said that one of his goals was to work with the legendary analyst one day.
“One of the reasons I want to work with him is because we’re all so lucky because of basketball, and there’s never been a bigger cheerleader of college basketball than him. Basketball has given me everything in my life, so it’s pretty special,” Barkley said, via The Associated Press. “Sunday was exciting because the bracket was announced, but Tuesday is the official kickoff when the games begin.”
Dave O’Brien was the play-by-play announcer for the first Barkley-Vitale game in December, but it will be Brian Anderson calling the game with the two analysts in the First Four. Anderson will then join his usual analyst partner, Jim Jackson, for the rest of the tournament.
Advertisement
After the game, Barkley will return to the studio for the next few weeks, while Vitale will be off the air until next season.
SN EXPERT BRACKETS:DeCourcy (Arizona) | Bender (Michigan) | Iyer (Arizona) | Gay (UCLA women)
Has Dick Vitale ever called a March Madness game?
While Vitale has been covering college basketball for much of his life, this will be the first time that he gets to call an NCAA tournament game. Vitale has always worked for ESPN, but was a studio analyst when ESPN covered the men’s tournament in the 1980s.
Vitale admitted that CBS tried to get him to call games at times over his career, but he wanted to remain loyal to ESPN. Now, the college basketball legend finally gets his chance to call a game in March Madness.
Advertisement
MORE REGION PREVIEWS: East | West | Midwest | South
How old is Dick Vitale?
Vitale is 86 years-old and has been a college basketball analyst at ESPN since 1979, In almost five decades on television, Vitale has become the biggest name in college basketball media, but hasn’t broadcasted an NCAA tournament game until now.
