This Charles Barkley–Dick Vitale Broadcast Is Exactly What The NCAA Tournament Needs

Dick Vitale and Charles Barkley sharing a desk together to call an NCAA Tournament game? Yeah, you can go ahead and sign us up for that.

Dicky V and Chuck will be on the call for Tuesday night's First Four matchup between NC State and Texas in Dayton, Ohio. The occasion will mark the second time the two legends have worked together after the two worked the Indiana-Kentucky game in December.

Vitale has declined previous invitations from CBS and TNT to announce tournament games in the past, but after Chuck joined him for the IU-UK game late last year, he's returning the favor.

"This is happening because he (Barkley) worked a game on ESPN. Now I’m doing back the favor and giving them a game on their network," Vitale told the Associated Press. "I had been offered chances in the last few years. Sean McManus (the retired chairman of CBS Sports) would call and say, ‘You shouldn’t end your career without doing an NCAA game, and we’ll let you do it on CBS.’ I appreciated it so much, but I told him the one thing I wanted on my resume was that I worked my entire career at ESPN. He was surprised but said he respected that."

Dick Vitale will be sat next to Charles Barkley for the First Four in Dayton. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images)

You can't fault Vitale for being a loyal guy – even if the four-letter network has lost most of its charm in recent years – but thank goodness we're getting the two together for a contest during March Madness.

Chuck is as excited as Vitale is to call the game between the Wolfpack and Longhorns on Tuesday.

"One of my goals for 10, 12 years was to call a game with Dick, and they (their bosses) would never let us do it," Barkley explained. "It was awesome to do Indiana and Kentucky, and I think it’s going to be even better this time. I’ve said this before, other than the Olympics, March Madness is the most impressive thing I have been a part of. It’s incredible.

"One of the reasons I want to work with him is because we’re all so lucky because of basketball, and there’s never been a bigger cheerleader of college basketball than him. Basketball has given me everything in my life, so it’s pretty special," Barkley continued.

Vitale returned to the air after battling cancer four times in three years. Having the 86-year-old sitting next to Chuck, who has worked the NCAA Tournament since 2011, feels like a broadcasting moment the sports world could look back on for quite some time.

Texas and NC State will tip off on TruTV at 9:15 PM ET on Tuesday.