Dick Vitale will not call Duke vs. UNC game for first time in 36 years

ESPN analyst Dick Vitale will not call Wednesday's game between No. 4 Duke and No. 12 North Carolina for the first time in 36 years. It will be the first game in the series broadcasted on ESPN that Vitale won't work since he joined the network in 1979.

ESPN analyst Dick Vitale will not call Wednesday's game between No. 4 Duke and No. 12 North Carolina for the first time in 36 years, Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

It will be the first game in the series broadcasted on ESPN that Vitale won't work since he joined the network in 1979. 

Vitale declined comment to Jones, but last week he tweeted about the end of the streak. 

@jschil Yes 35 straight years / it was fun / I will miss it but ESPN has been great to me /No Hall of Fame w/o ESPN

— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) February 13, 2015

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Vitale had called the last few games in the series with play-by-play commentator Dan Shulman and former Duke player Jay Bilas, but the pair will call the game without him on Wednesday.

Duke is 22-3 on the season and 9-3 in ACC play, while North Carolina is 18-7 overall and 8-4 in conference play. The Blue Devils beat the Tar Heels in the last meeting between the teams in March 2014.

Duke hosts North Carolina on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.

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