WIUX’s Ben Heisler A Top Finalist for ESPN’s “Be Dickie V” Contest
March 7th, 2010 | Published in News
Two weeks ago, WIUX – 99.1FM’s Sports Director and Indiana University student Ben Heisler was selected as a Top 25 Finalist for ESPN.com’s “Be Dickie V” impersonation contest sponsored by Sunkist Soda. Now that the fans have spoken, he’ll have an opportunity to be #1.
Heisler, along with two other finalists, will travel to Los Angeles, California to participate in the final round of the contest. The three contestants will perform their impersonations of Hall of Fame broadcaster and ESPN college basketball commentator Dick Vitale at the Pac-10 Tournament at Staples Center where the audience will determine their favorite impersonator through loudest level of applause. The winner will receive a check for $10,000.
“I still can’t believe I’ve made it this far and I’m in the finals!” said Heisler. “I owe a ton of thanks to everyone who took the time to vote for me and help put me into the Top 15. I’ve already got some great ideas of how I’m going to win over those passionate Pac-10 fans!”
A senior majoring in Journalism, Heisler was chosen in early February as a Top 25 finalist in which applicants submitted their best video impressions of Vitale. After the top 25 were selected by a panel of judges, the contestants were narrowed down to 15 through online voting by fans and viewers.
The remaining 15 were divided into groups of three, and each group will be flown to one the following men’s basketball conference tournaments to compete for the $10,000 grand prize: the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, Big XII in Kansas City, Missouri, Big East in New York City, SEC in Nashville, Tennessee and the Pac-10 in Los Angeles.
The Brooklyn, New York native Vitale (70), has been a college basketball analyst since 1979 with ESPN and was known for his loud, vociferous excitement and enthusiasm for all things college basketball.
“I think one of the ways I’ve stayed in this thing for so long is that I’ve tried to capture Vitale’s vocal exuberance without completely imitating him word-for-word,” said Heisler. “ I want to make my impression creative, original, and definitely fun!”
