NBC's longtime voice of golf and Notre Dame football died unexpectedly this week at age 64, and Benetti stepped in on short notice to call Saturday's game against Boston College.
Dan Hicks, NBC's voice of golf and several Olympic sports who also called Notre Dame football for the network, died unexpectedly this week at age 64. Tributes poured in from across the sporting world, from fellow broadcasters to athletes whose biggest moments Hicks had narrated over the years.
With Hicks gone, NBC needed someone to step in for Saturday's Notre Dame-Boston College broadcast, and the call went to Jason Benetti. He clearly understood the weight of the assignment, paying tribute to Hicks multiple times throughout the broadcast rather than treating it as just another fill-in gig.
Benetti opened the broadcast with an emotional nod to his predecessor, acknowledging the sudden loss before the game even kicked off. When Notre Dame scored a touchdown, he found another moment to honor Hicks, making clear that the day's call, however routine the football itself might have been, was happening under circumstances nobody wanted.
Hicks spent decades as one of the sport's most recognizable voices, and his death leaves a noticeable gap in NBC's broadcast booth heading into the rest of the season.