Feb 16, 2015 04:01 PM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Arriving at ESPN just before Mike Krzyzewski did at Duke, Dick Vitale has called every Blue Devils - Tar Heels men's basketball game the network has aired since, up until this Wednesday.

First reported by the Tampa Bay Times' Tom Jones, Vitale will not call the Duke vs. UNC game for the first time in 36 years. ESPN hired Vitale in 1979 and he called the historic college hoops rivalry ever since, elevating his name as a sportscaster and validating the network's hiring.

For reference, Duke hired Krzyzewski in 1980 and he recently won his 1,000th coaching victory and is on his way to eclipsing that total with the Blue Devils alone.

Vitale was the default commentator and analyst for the Duke - UNC game, often paired with a play-by-play announcer. Of late, Jones noted, ESPN has been pairing Vitale with both Dan Schulman for play-by-play and Jay Bilas as an additional analyst.

ESPN recently announced a contract extension that will keep Vitale with the network through the 2016-2017 college basketball season. Josh Krulewitz, a spokesman for the network, said Vitale is as crucial as ever to ESPN's college hoops coverage.

For the Win's Chris Chase called it "a disgrace" that Vitale will not be calling the game. In his op-ed, Chase acknowledged that Vitale has "slipped in recent years," but his enthusiasm still makes him a must-watch analyst when something big happens in a game.

Bilas also signed a contract extension with ESPN shortly after Vitale did, but he agreed to stay with the network through the 2022-2023 season, Broadcasting and Cable reported.

"Jay Bilas is a tremendous contributor to ESPN in so many ways, and we are delighted to extend our relationship with him," John Wildhack, ESPN's executive VP of production and programming, said in a statement. "He is among a small group of commentators who transcend genres based on his ability to inform and educate sports fans, break down game action and articulate how and why things happen in college basketball and the sports world at large."

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