Report: North Carolina, West Virginia finalizing agreement to play in Dick Vitale Invitational in Charlotte

North Carolina and West Virginia are reportedly finalizing an agreement to play one another in the second annual Dick Vitale Invitational at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, according to The Field of 68’s Rocco Miller. The game is scheduled for Nov. 27, per Miller.

Last season’s inaugural Dick Vitale Invitational featured a season-opening matchup between Duke and Texas, which the sixth-ranked Blue Devils won 75-60 in Charlotte. The 86-year-old Vitale called the game alongside fellow ESPN colleagues Jay Bilas and Dave O’Brien. It was Vitale’s first game of the 2025-26 season, which was his 46th covering college basketball for ESPN.

Vitale, who turns 87 on June 9, recently revealed he’s facing another cancer battle after he was diagnosed with melanoma in his lungs and liver in April. It’s Vitale’s fifth cancer diagnosis since 2021.

Vitale made his return to the broadcast table in February 2025 after a nearly two-year absence while recovering from vocal cord cancer. He has also beaten lymphoma and melanoma, as well as lymph node cancer. He vowed to go “five-for-five” as he faces his latest challenge, and he made it clear he feels great.

“I’ve beaten melanoma. I’ve beaten lymphoma. I’ve beaten vocal cord cancer. I’ve beaten lymph node cancer,” Vitale said in an April 13 statement. “I’m four-for-four and I’m fully confident I’m going to make it five-for-five.

“I am truly overwhelmed by the love, support, prayers, and messages I’ve received from so many people. I’m incredibly blessed to have my family beside me, and my ESPN family – led by Chairman Jimmy Pitaro – has been absolutely terrific. Their support has inspired me to keep fighting, and I will do everything in my power to win another battle. The best news I can share today is this: I feel fantastic.”

North Carolina will be debuting new head coach Michael Malone next season after the team parted ways with alumnus Hubert Davis after five seasons on March 24. The 54-year-old Malone previously spent 12 seasons coaching in the NBA, including winning the 2023 NBA Championship with the Denver Nuggets. Malone signed a six-year, $50 million contract in April that will pay him $7.5 million in Year 1, making him the fourth-highest paid coach in college basketball.

West Virginia enters Year 2 under head coach Ross Hodge, who went 21-14 in 2025-26 and ended the season winning the 2026 College Basketball Crown, an eight-team single-elimination tournament for teams that were not selected for the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

— On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.