Dorothy “Dot” Hicks named Grand Marshal of Marshall University’s 2024 Homecoming Tournament – ​​Real WV

PRESS RELEASE:

Marshall University, the Marshall University Foundation and the Marshall University Alumni Association are pleased to announce that Dorothy “Dot” Hicks will serve as Grand Marshal for the University’s 2024 Homecoming activities the week of September 30 – October 5.

“We are proud to honor Dot Hicks – a trailblazer, leader and legend – as this year's Grand Marshal,” said Matt James, vice president of alumni relations. “Her dedication and contributions to our university have made a significant impact, and we are honored to recognize her achievements during Homecoming week. This has been a breakthrough year for women's sports, so there is no better time to highlight our own Herd sports icon.”

In her role as Grand Marshal, Hicks will lead the annual Homecoming Parade on Friday, October 4, at 6 p.m. The popular parade will travel down Fourth Avenue in Huntington and end on campus. The parade is part of a full week of activities for this year's Homecoming, “The Marco Games,” which feature Marshall-style multi-sport events from a variety of disciplines, promoting unity and athletic excellence.

Hicks was a former administrator, coach and professor at Marshall and was called a “pioneer of the women's athletic program at Marshall” upon her induction into the Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame in 1990. Hicks has also left her legacy of philanthropy to the university by endowing several scholarships that bear her name. In March 2008, Marshall opened Dot Hicks Field, the university's softball stadium.

“Being elected Grand Marshal is one of the best things that has ever happened to me,” Hicks said. “It was wonderful to think about and I've thought about it a lot.”

Hicks is originally from Old Hickory, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville. She graduated from Peabody College with bachelor's and master's degrees in biology and special education. She earned a doctorate in higher education and administration from the University of Tennessee and came to Huntington in 1969 after teaching for 14 years at East Tennessee State University.

Hicks founded the intercollegiate athletic programs for women at Marshall. She served as assistant athletic director in the 1970s and was also a professor in the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, where she also served as head of the physical education department. She coached several sports at Marshall, including tennis, golf and volleyball. She later became athletic director for women's sports and liaison to the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women.

“It's nice to get recognition,” Hicks said. “I wasn't trying to impress anyone. I wanted to make sure the athletes had everything they needed. Teaching was my first love and I thought women should have the same rights as men.”

In 1974, Hicks awarded the first two women's athletic scholarships to golfer Nancy Bunton and basketball player Kathy Haas.

Hicks said there was a time in her life when she thought she wouldn't be able to go to college. Her Nashville Kiwanis Club disagreed, and with their help, Hicks was able to receive scholarships to college.

“I promised them that I would create scholarships when I was financially able to do so, and that's what I did,” said Hicks, who has created numerous scholarships in conjunction with the Marshall University Foundation and the Big Green Scholarship Foundation.

Hicks retired from Marshall in 1999 and moved to the Woodlands Retirement Community in Huntington in 2000. Although she still has family in Nashville, Hicks said Huntington has become her home.

“It's wonderful to see the students and see what they've done with their lives,” Hicks said. “Marshall is the best school in the country, in my opinion, because of the faculty, the students and the administration. With our current administration, we're going to be known across the country and maybe even the world.”

In addition to the Homecoming parade, Hicks will also participate in other major events on campus and in the surrounding area leading up to the Homecoming football game against Appalachian State University on Saturday, Oct. 5. Other highlights of Homecoming week for alumni include the Unity Walk on Monday, Sept. 30, the 25th and 50th class reunions of the Alumni Association and Marshall University Black Alumni Hall of Fame on Friday, Oct. 4, and the Marshall University Alumni Tailgate presented by The Woodlands Retirement Community on Oct. 5. For more information about this year's Homecoming, visit www.formarshallu.org/homecoming.