One look at Mid-American Conference Commissioner Rick Chryst is enough to send your brain spinning. His resemblance to TV analyst Dick Vitale is uncanny and in some ways unnerving.
"It was kind of weird the first time I met him," said UB men's basketball head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "I've met Vitale before, and at first glance you can't tell the two apart. Come to think of it, at the second and third glance you can't either."
That's because the two are the same person. That's right, the lovable TV personality that cannot be talked over and the man who runs the MAC are one in the same.
"Now that you mention it, it makes sense. I've never seen the two of them together. Of course, they talk differently, but that could be just a ruse," mused football coach Jim Hofher. "Hey, did you get to head over to Slimin's while you were in Cleveland?"
No, sorry. I was unable to experience the largest corn beef sandwich on Earth.
A clever ruse indeed. No one, in fact, has seen the two men together although both claim to have met each other.
"I met Mr. Vitale many years ago during the NCAA Tournament. What he has done for the game of college basketball is great. I only hope that I can have the same effect on the MAC," said Chryst.
"The Commish (Chryst) has done nothing but turn the Mid-American Conference into perhaps the finest mid-major conference in college athletics. It's awesome baby!" said Vitale.
The evidence is overwhelming. They are both approximately the same age, height, and weight. One is named Rick, the other Dick. In Mogdilanish, Chryst means loud. This is in addition to their "similarities" in appearance. A secretary in the MAC office, who wanted her name to remain confidential, confirms these suspicions.
"I know I shouldn't be saying this, I've been told many times to hold all calls for Mr. Chryst and Mr. Vitale. I mean, do the math," she said.
Many people voiced their doubts as well, citing no recognizable advantages for either Chryst or Vitale.
"I just don't get it. What's in it for him to be two people," asked UB women's basketball coach Cheryl Dozier. "I would think that if the MAC commissioner was Dick Vitale then the conference would be getting a couple of at-large bids in the tournament every year, but that's not happening. And besides, I've never heard the Commish use words like 'awesome' and 'baby.'"
"I would think that the advantages are obvious," said Witherspoon. "The guy gets two paychecks and all that television exposure. I would do it to if I thought I could get away with it."
But sources close to Chryst say the reason may not be monetary, but simply a love for the game of basketball.
"It was strange when Mr. Vitale walked in for his interview," said one former member of the ESPN board of directors. "We all thought it was Rick, but when he started talking, it was a different voice. We should have known it was all a trick when he said he forgot his resume."
No one can seem to remember when Dick Vitale showed up on the college basketball radar, and no one knows where he was before then. But it seems his connections with the MAC has not compromised his position as an analyst.
"Dick is great, and his praise is always fair," said Digger Phelps.
How long can Rick Chryst keep up the charade? Only time will tell if the commissioner of the MAC will have to decide between a life on television or administration.
