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 through October 5.

“We are proud to recognize Dot Hicks — a pioneer, 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 celebrate her service during Homecoming week. This has been a year of breakthrough women’s sports, so there is no better time to shine the spotlight on our own Herd sports icon.”

Hicks will emphasize her role as grand marshal and will lead the annual Homecoming parade at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4. The popular parade is expected to wind down Fourth Avenue in Huntington before concluding on campus. The parade will be part of a week of activities for this year’s Homecoming, “The Marco Games,” which puts a Marshall spin on multi-sport events from a wide range of disciplines that showcase unity and athletic excellence.

Hicks is a former administrator, coach and professor at Marshall and was called the “pioneer of the women’s sports program at Marshall” upon her induction into the Marshall Athletics’ Hall of Fame in 1990. Hicks also left a legacy of philanthropic giving to the university with multiple scholarships bearing her name. In March 2008, Marshall opened Dot Hicks Field, the university’s softball stadium.

“Being selected as grand marshal is one of the best things that ever happened to me,” Hicks said. “It was amazing to think about it, and I thought about it a lot.”

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

Hicks founded the women’s intercollegiate athletics programs at Marshall. She served as associate athletic director in the 1970s and was also a professor in the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, where she also chaired the Physical Education Department. She coached several sports at Marshall, including tennis, golf and volleyball. She went on to serve as director of athletics for women’s sports and as liaison to the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women.

“It’s nice to be recognized,” Hicks said. “I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I wanted to make sure the athletes had what they needed. Teaching was my first love and I believed 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 thought differently, and through their help, Hicks was able to receive scholarships to attend college.

“I promised them that if I was financially able to do so, I would create scholarships, which I have done,” said Hicks, who has created numerous scholarships with the Marshall University Foundation and the Big Green Scholarship Foundation.

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

“It’s amazing to see the students and 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 all over the country and maybe even the world.”

In addition to the Homecoming Parade, Hicks will participate in other key events on and around campus leading up to the Homecoming football game against Appalachian State University on Saturday, October 5. Other highlights of Homecoming week for alumni include the Unity Walk on Monday, September 30; the 25th and 50th Class Reunions of the Alumni Association and the Marshall University Black Alumni’s Hall of Fame on Friday, October 4; and the Marshall University Alumni Tailgate presented by Woodlands Retirement Community on October 5. More information about this year’s Homecoming can be found at www.formarshallu.org/homecoming.