Dick Vitale teared up as Kansas and Indiana fans gave him an emotional standing ovation

Basketball fans gave longtime broadcaster Dick Vitale a heartwarming welcome back to Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday.

As the Kansas Jayhawks took on the Indiana Hoosiers — Kansas won, 84-62 — Vitale got a standing ovation from the crowd as he returned to commentate games after undergoing cancer treatments earlier this year.

The long ovation got to Vitale, who shed some tears and sounded very grateful when reflecting on the moment during the broadcast.

“Dickie V” has always been one of the easiest people to root for in the college basketball world. It was great to see the Allen Fieldhouse crowd give Vitale his flowers in such a loving way after he’s had such a tough year.

I want to send a big THANK YOU for the surprising intro at the game today by the KANSAS fans . https://t.co/44ur0SUZIx

— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) December 17, 2022

It’s hard to watch that clip and not feel a great deal of appreciation that Vitale is back on the sidelines calling games.

The college basketball world just isn’t the same without him, and the fans at Saturday’s game found the perfect way to welcome the longtime broadcaster back to where he belongs.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.