Sports celebrities are coming to town for Dick Vitale’s Gala. Here’s who you can see
The honorees and date for the 20th Annual Dick Vitale Gala, which raises money for pediatric cancer research to benefit the V Foundation, were announced Friday.
After raising $24.8 million for the 2024 event, Vitale has raised nearly $93 million to date from his annual event.
Next year’s event occurs Friday, May 2 at the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Sarasota.
“I am counting down the days until the 20th Annual Dick Vitale Gala in Sarasota,” Vitale said in a news release. “It is amazing when I think about how we started our first Gala in my backyard where we raised $300,000 and were thrilled beyond belief.”
“I am absolutely blown away to think in our 20th Gala we will surpass $100 million raised for pediatric cancer research! I want to send a thank you to every one of you who has made that happen and certainly everyone who has been so generous in donating,” he added.
The Gala’s honorees in 2025 include Dan Hurley, who recently turned down the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching job to stay at UConn. Hurley led the Huskies to back-to-back NCAA national championships in 2024.
In addition to Hurley, here are the other honorees:
Michael Strahan, Pro Football Hall of Famer and Good Morning America host
Grant Hill, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks
Hannah Storm, ESPN personality and SportsCenter anchor (John Saunders Courage Award)
Nancy Lieberman, former WNBA player and coach and current Oklahoma City Thunder broadcaster (Dick Vitale Spirit Award)
ESPN SportsCenter anchor Kevin Negandhi is scheduled to host the event.
For more information, visit www.V.org/event/dick-vitale-gala/.
