Out with the Old in with the New.
According to a report by The Big Lead, Jay Bilas will replace college basketball staple Dick Vitale on ESPN’s Saturday prime-time games.
According to multiple people close to the show, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the move has not yet been publicly announced, ESPN recently made the decision to promote Bilas to calling the Saturday night game in addition to extending his contract with the network through 2023. Vitale had been calling the Saturday primetime games with Dan Shulman since 2005, when they debuted.
Vitale, whose contract was also extended, will still be calling games for the network.
This change is a part of a few that have been made to ESPN’s college basketball game day coverage. Jalen Rose and Digger Phelps will be replaced with Jay Williams and Seth Greenberg and taping locations will be determined on a weekly basis, similar to College Football Game Day.
College hoops season is upon us and I couldn’t be happier.