Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman closed his postgame interview Saturday by paying tribute to recently deceased NBC broadcaster Dan Hicks, and sending condolences to Hicks’ family.
Hicks, the network’s play-by-play voice for Fighting Irish football, was scheduled to call the 41-7 Fighting Irish win over Boston College — until his sudden death three days earlier, a loss that remains largely unexplained.
Freeman was discussing his team’s preparation when he turned to Hicks, who died Wednesday at age 64.
“The preparation is what matters. And I want to make sure before we leave, I send our condolences out to the family of Dan Hicks and Hannah,” Freeman said, in a video posted by NBC Sports. “Just know that we’re thinking about the family, and we’re praying for them all.”
He was referring also to Hannah Storm, longtime ESPN anchor and Hicks’ wife of more than 30 years. She also holds a Notre Dame degree, class of 1983.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Coach Marcus Freeman’s Dan Hicks Tribute
Saturday marked the second time in three days that Freeman spoke publicly about Hicks. The coach put the subject first at his Thursday media session.
“I wanted to make sure we start off by sending my condolences to Hannah Storm and her daughters, and all those affected by the loss of Dan Hicks,” Freeman said, as quoted by Awful Announcing. “Dan was amazing to work with, and he was an ultimate professional, but more importantly, he was a great husband, father, and man.”
Hicks first called Notre Dame games from 2013 through 2016, then came back to the booth in 2024, Freeman’s third year in charge, according to a Sports Illustrated report. That adds up to seven seasons. His final Irish telecast was the Oct. 10 victory over Stanford.
Athletic director Pete Bevacqua, a former NBC Sports executive, called Hicks “a fixture here on campus and in the broadcast booth as one of the great voices for Notre Dame Football,” in a statement quoted by the South Bend Tribune.
Jason Benetti took over play-by-play duties Saturday, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He worked alongside analyst Jason Garrett on a broadcast that included tributes to Hicks, according to USA Today.
Notre Dame improved to 9-1 with its 11th consecutive win over Boston College. The Irish defense held the Eagles to 136 yards of total offense. Quarterback CJ Carr completed 20 of 26 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns, while freshman running back Jonaz Walton piled up 141 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Dan Hicks’ Cause of Death and NBC Legacy
Hicks died late Wednesday in Connecticut. Storm made the announcement Thursday morning.
“Our family is heartbroken by the sudden and unexpected passing of Dan following an acute illness,” Storm wrote in a statement, as quoted by The Guardian. “He was a devoted husband of over 30 years, loving father to our three daughters, and cherished friend to so many.”
Those two words — “acute illness” — are still the only explanation on record of the cause of Hicks’ death. Storm’s statement did not name the illness, and no additional details on the cause of death have been made public, according to Yahoo Sports.
Notre Dame football was only one piece of a much larger career. A Tucson native and University of Arizona graduate, Hicks moved from CNN to NBC Sports in 1992 and became the network’s lead PGA Tour voice around 2000. He worked 16 Olympics, according to CBS Sports, mostly on swimming and alpine skiing.
Two of his best-known calls came in the same summer. In 2008, Hicks narrated Tiger Woods’ U.S. Open finish, then the comeback by Jason Lezak that won the 4×100 freestyle relay in Beijing and kept Michael Phelps on course for eight gold medals.
Whether Benetti stays in the Notre Dame booth beyond Saturday is not yet clear, Yahoo Sports reported.
Dan Hicks Dies: Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman Pays Heartfelt Tribute After BC Win