NBC began its broadcast of Notre Dame’s home game against Boston College on Saturday with a tribute to Dan Hicks, the longtime voice of Fighting Irish football who died at 64 on Wednesday after an acute illness. The network’s studio host Ahmad Fareed opened the coverage by expressing the shock felt by Hicks’ colleagues and friends.
“Today we will celebrate a man whose expertise, but more importantly his warmth and his humor, will live on through everyone he knew,” Fareed said, his voice catching with emotion. “So this is not just another game for us, not just another day. Today is a day that we remember and miss our friend.”
Jason Benetti, Hicks’ broadcast partner on Notre Dame games since 2024, spoke as the telecast began from South Bend. “Our broadcast booth feels very hollow right now, here at NBC Sports,” Benetti said. “I wish I wasn’t here right now. I wish Dan was here right now.”
Jason Garrett, who worked alongside Hicks on Notre Dame football broadcasts since 2024, shared his memories of the veteran announcer, emphasizing Hicks’ generosity and team spirit. “What I always loved about Hicksy is it never was about him. It was always about embracing the moment and highlighting the people involved, and that’s how he lived his life,” Garrett said.
“As legendary a broadcaster as he was, he was a better guy,” Garrett added. “Devoted husband and father and friend. He was always so generous to me. He had an amazing spirit, he brightened every room he was in.”
Jimmy Roberts, a longtime colleague who worked with Hicks on NBC’s golf coverage, introduced a video tribute that traced Hicks’ career across multiple sports. The package included clips of Hicks calling football, golf, tennis, Olympic swimming, and skiing, alongside studio anchoring and interviews.
“The depth of our sorrow usually mirrors the depth of our love. That makes sense,” Roberts said. “What makes no sense at all is that Dan isn’t in South Bend today, doing what he loved to do and doing it as well as anybody has ever done it.”
Roberts narrated the tribute, noting Hicks’ versatility over more than three decades at NBC Sports, where his career began in 1992 broadcasting NFL games. “He was everywhere in his three decades here. He did it all because he could do it all,” Roberts said. “How many people possessed that type of versatility? The truth is, so few could make something so complicated, and often chaotic, look so easy. That was his superpower. That, and the way he made people feel.”
Hicks called play-by-play for Notre Dame football on NBC for seven seasons between 2013 and 2026. His voice was a fixture in South Bend and beyond, capturing some of college football’s most memorable moments.
His death on Wednesday sent ripples through the sports broadcasting community, with tributes pouring in for a figure whose work spanned a wide range of sports and who was respected for his professionalism and warmth. The broadcast booth felt emptier this weekend as NBC honored his memory during the Notre Dame-Boston College game.
According to Yahoo Sports.
