INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – Dick Vitale, whose philanthropy as a champion of cancer research has become as much a part of his signature as his devotion to basketball, has been named the recipient of the Dean Smith Award by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, recognizing an individual in the sport who embodies the spirit and values of the late Coach Smith.
The award will be presented to Vitale on April 17 at the annual USBWA College Basketball Awards dinner at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
“There is no one more enthusiastic about discussing or promoting college basketball than Dick Vitale,” said USBWA president Stu Durando. “The same goes for his advocacy for the V Foundation and work for pediatric cancer research, both of which have had a major impact. Dick's own public battle with cancer has been an inspiration for many. His influence has transcended the world of college basketball.”
The Dean Smith Award was created by the USBWA in 2015 to honor the late Hall of Fame coach at the University of North Carolina. Recipients are recognized for their principles of honesty and integrity, for treating all people with courtesy and respect, for accomplishments away from the game, and for the impact they have made on their community.
“I have been so blessed to receive many honors, but this really touched me emotionally as I had the ULTIMATE RESPECT for Dean Smith, certainly as a magnificent coach but also for his values,” Vitale said. “I was always in AWE when in his company. This is a true honor to get an award with his name on it. Truly it is AWESOME BABY with a capital A!”
The annual “Dick Vitale Gala” has raised $92.8 million for the V Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding a cure for cancer which was founded in 1993 in the name of his friend and ESPN colleague Jim Valvano.
Previous award winners include John Thompson, Tom Izzo, Don Donoher, Fran Dunphy, Bob McKillop, George Raveling, Tubby Smith and Mike Krzyzewski. Vitale, the ninth winner, is the first who did not spend a lengthy career in coaching.
He joined ESPN in 1979, less than three months after its launch, following a coaching career in which he led East Rutherford High School to two New Jersey state championships and the University of Detroit to the NCAA tournament. He coached the Detroit Pistons of the NBA for one full season and part of another before his work on a Wisconsin-DePaul game on Dec. 5, 1979 became the first of more than 1,000 game broadcasts.
Vitale, who was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 and the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 2013, has been chosen for 13 halls of fame.
Smith coached 36 seasons at North Carolina, winning the 1982 and 1993 national championships and an Olympic gold medal in 1976. Smith’s total of 879 victories was the most by any basketball coach in Division I history when he retired in 1997.
He championed racial equality and joined in campus protests against segregation. He helped integrate a restaurant and a neighborhood in Chapel Hill, and in 1966 he recruited Charles Scott, the first African-American player at North Carolina.
“Dean Smith was not simply a coach who won,” former USBWA president Pat Forde said when the award was created, “but a coach who educated outside the gymnasium, who demonstrated a concern for his players beyond their athletic ability, who had an active voice on social issues and was an agent for positive change. He was a great role model for his peers and for future generations. We are pleased to recognize those who have followed his path.”
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 800 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.