Charles Barkley has done a lot in his storied basketball broadcasting career, but last week’s pairing with Dick Vitale at a First Four game might have taken the cake.
The truTV broadcast featured the two titans of basketball media, along with play-by-play announcer Brian Anderson, calling Texas’ win over NC State in a battle of No. 11 seeds. It was Vitale’s first time calling an NCAA Tournament game for a U.S. TV audience as well.
The pairing was something many basketball fans had hoped to hear but figured would never happen, given that they usually work for different companies and cover different leagues. However, the stars aligned, not just for viewers but for Barkley himself.
“One of the coolest things I’ve done in my life.”
Charles Barkley reflects on working with Dick Vitale for the First Four. pic.twitter.com/Ook397uxc6
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) March 23, 2026
“It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my life,” Barkley said on Monday’s The Jim Rome Show. “You know, I had been trying to do that for like 13, 14 years, and TNT and ESPN had blocked it.
“The thing I love about Dick, number one, when you raise over $100 million, he battled cancer four times and survived. But he understands how lucky me and him are… Basketball has given me so much in my life. It’s given me everything. And I always want to repay the game back.
“We’re the luckiest dudes in the world to play a stupid game and make millions and millions of dollars. So every time I see Dick, man, I really appreciate what he’s done for the game because he understands, man, the game has given us way more, way more than we’ve given it.
“We get paid way more than we deserve, and we should be grateful and thankful, and Dick epitomizes that.”
Not everyone was happy with the broadcast, but if Barkley and Vitale had a good time and got to check something off their bucket lists, then that’s fair enough.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.