No announcer has had a wilder month than ESPN college basketball analyst Dan Dakich. First there was his radio feud with WEEI in Boston that raged during AFC Championship Week. Then came a brief dust-up with Iowa basketball coach Fran McCaffery after Dakich called out Hawkeye center Adam Woodbury as “gutless” for poking the eye of two Wisconsin players. On, and in between that an Iowa patrolman got in trouble for joking about someone sniping Dakich.
With Dakich apparently Public Enemy #1 in the Hawkeye State, and a rematch looming against Wisconsin in Iowa City, the university is taking an unprecedented step in the television world. Dan Dakich will be given extra security for Saturday’s home game against the Badgers.
Extra security… for an announcer?!? Details via The Gazette:
Iowa athletics will ramp up security around ESPN broadcaster Dan Dakich during the Hawkeyes’ basketball game Saturday against No. 5 Wisconsin at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
During Iowa’s 82-50 loss at Wisconsin last week, Dakich called Hawkeyes center Adam Woodbury “cowardly” and “gutless” after the junior twice poked eyes of Wisconsin players. Woodbury said his actions were accidental and apologized. Dakich, who also called for Woodbury’s suspension, did not back down from his comments last week. That caused a wave of reaction among Iowa — and other — basketball fans last week on social media and other platforms.
“We have decided that there will be a member of the security staff sitting behind the television table,” said Rick Klatt, Iowa’s associate athletics director for external relations. “Hopefully we’ll be fine.
“It’s probably the prudent thing to do for the circumstances.”
I honestly can never remember an announcer needing extra security over comments he made about a player or a team (although Mark May hasn’t been to Columbus in recent years) so maybe this is some kind of ultimate achievement unlocked by Dakich. I’ve been to Iowa, they’re nice people out there. I wouldn’t think bodyguards would be necessary for a guy who talks about basketball on television, but I guess you never know.
Hopefully the controversy won’t affect Dakich’s ability to fairly call the game and this firestorm quietly gets stamped out. McCaffery has said he wants to move on and I hope ESPN would like to do so as well. The network’s college basketball coverage hasn’t traditionally had an element of antagonizing fanbases like their college football coverage has done in the past. Nevertheless, it definitely provides some extra incentive to watch a regular season Big Ten game.
