ESPN Signs 80-Year-Old Dick Vitale to Extension Through 2021-22 Season

The 80-year-old analyst has been with the network since 1979.

ESPN has signed 80-year-old basketball analyst Dick Vitale to a one-year extension that will keep him with the network through the 2021-22 season, Vitale confirmed to Front Office Sports. Vitale signed an extension for this year last May. His new deal will take him through what will be his 42nd year with the network.

Vital joined ESPN during the 1979-80 season and called ESPN's first-ever college basketball telecast just after the network was launched.

He will continue to work as a game analyst, contribute to SportsCenter and ESPN.com.

Vitale was recently awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 40th Annual Sports Emmy Awards in New York. In May, he said that he'd like to work until he's 100 years old.

“I’m so honored and proud to be a little spoke in the big wheel that ESPN is in the world of sports,” Vitale told Broadcasting + Cable. “ESPN is my second family, and all the beautiful people I've had the opportunity to work with over the years are so important to me.”