VITALE TO SPEAK AT SIXTH ANNUAL BOGEY WITH BARONE ON OCT. 10
Jul 17, 1997 | Men's Basketball
July 17, 1997
Legendary ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale will be the guest speaker at the Sixth Annual Bogey With Barone golf tournament and dinner on Friday, Oct. 10 at Pebble Creek Country Club. Texas A&M basketball coach Tony Barone serves as tournament host.
"Dick Vitale is the premier college basketball analyst in the country and it will be a treat for us to have him at our tip-off banquet," Barone said. "The enthusiasm he has for the game is incredible. This event will give our fans a chance to show Vitale our enthusiasm for basketball. He is an exceptional speaker who is not only entertaining but can be highly motivational as well."
The golf tournament will have a four-man scramble format with double shotgun starts at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. The dinner will be at 7:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. The event is sponsored by the 12th Man Foundation and Outback Steakhouse.
The entire package, which includes golf, hot lunch, ditty bag, dinner, parking and two tickets to Big 12 Conference home opener in Janaury, costs $150 per person. Additional dinner tickets can be purchased for $25. Tickets to the dinner only are $30. A&M students are invited to listen to Vitale speak free of charge from the upper level at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
Vitale joined fledgling ESPN for the 1979-80 season after a successful college and pro coaching career. He has been a college basketball analyst for ABC Sports since 1988 and has also covered the NBA Finals and the 1992 Summer Olympics for ABC Radio. He provides commentary on "Dick Vitale's Fast Break" which airs each Wednesday during the college basketball season on ESPN's SportsCenter. In 1995, he received a CableACE Award as top analyst. He has received eight nominations for cable's top honor.
Vitale began his coaching career at East Rutherford (N.J.) High School, where he won five sectional titles, two state championships and posted a 35-game winning streak in seven years (1964-70). He served two years as an assistant at Rutgers (1970-72), recruiting key players that led the team to the NCAA Final Four in 1976.
As head coach at the University of Detroit (1973-77), he compiled a 78-30 record (.722), including a 21-game winning streak in the 1976-77 season in which his squad defeated eventual national champion Marquette in Milwaukee. In 1977, Vitale was named the school's athletic director and was lated named the United Fund's Detroit Man of the Year. Vitale became head coach of the injury-plagued Detroit Pistons in 1978, posting a 34-60 record in one-plus seasons.
ESPN has televised two nationally-acclaimed Vitale specials - "The Game of Life" which first aired in 1991 and "Game Plan for Life" which first aired in 1994. Both were motivational speeches Vitale delivered to high school players at basketball camps.
Vitale's on-air "Vitale-isms" have contributed to his popularity. Among his more notable phrases are "PTP'er," "Get a TO Baby" and "Awesome Baby." He also serves as a spokesman for Pepsi, Adidas America, Pennzoil, Mohinder and Lincoln-Mercury.
He serves on selection committees for the Naismith and John Wooden Awards and is a member of The Associated Press's Top 25 voting panel. He has been featured in many national publications, including Sports Illustrated, People, Inside Sports, The Sporting News, TV Guide and The Cable Guide. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of the V Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding a cure for cancer that was founded in 1993 by ESPN and the late Jim Valvano.
The 58-year-old Vitale has appeared in the movies "Naked Gun," "Blue Chips" and "Jury Duty" and in 1992 he played a mover on the TV series "The Cosby Show." He has written or co-authored five books - Vitale, Time Out Baby!, Tourney Time, Dickie V's Top 40 and Holding Court: Reflections on the Game I Love.
During the college basketball season, 125 radio stations carry his syndicated "Dick Vitale Talking Roundball" program and he has been a featured guest on more than 100 radio talk shows. In addition, he is a columnist for Basketball Times and Eastern Basketball and is assistant publisher of Dick Vitale's Basketball Magazine, a college basketball preseason annual. He has served as a guest columnist covering the NCAA Tournament for USA Today since 1991.
In addition to Vitale, the Bogey With Barone dinner will feature a presentation of awards for the golf tournament and an opportunity to meet the 1997-98 Texas A&M basketball team. The event is being held in conjunction with the Texas A&M-Iowa State football game on Saturday, Oct. 11 at Kyle Field.
Hole sponsorships are available for $500. Sponsors will receive two spots in the golf tournament, two tickets to a cocktail reception with Vitale at 6:30 p.m. at the Faculty Club, four tickets to the dinner, tee or green signage, dinner program recognition, parking and two game tickets to the conference home opener.
Vitale's appearance continues the tradition of outstanding speakers at the Bogey With Barone, which has featured Hall of Fame coaches Al McGuire, Abe Lemons, Frank Layden and Jud Heathcote, as well as Big 12 Conference Commissioner Steve Hatchell.
For more information, reservations or hole sponsorships, contact Kevin Hurley at the Texas A&M Basketball Office at 409-845-4531.
