‘Home games’ nice fit with former Gonzaga great Dan Dickau’s broadcasting career
Dan Dickau will work roughly 20 college basketball games as an analyst for CBS Sports Network this season, which usually means flights to numerous locales in the West.
The former Gonzaga great has only had to hop in his car for a short drive to the arena for two recent assignments. Dickau has been on the call along with Rich Waltz and Jenny Dell for Gonzaga’s past two games at the McCarthey Athletic Center – last week’s 78-62 win over San Francisco and Thursday’s 89-55 win over Loyola Marymount.
“It’s nice, I don’t have the extra travel and I can stay at home,” said Dickau, who has been in broadcasting for the past decade. “I think Pete Gillen will have the next (Gonzaga game vs. Pacific on Feb. 10 on CBS Sports Network).”
The timing was especially nice Thursday since it was his son Lucas’ 16th birthday. The family gathered for a birthday party earlier in the day.
Dickau also has been able to stay close to home while working several Washington State home games on Pac-12 Network. Dickau and Greg Heister, fixtures along with Richard Fox on Gonzaga games aired locally on KHQ and regionally on Root Sports, called the Cougars’ victory over Utah on Wednesday in Pullman.
“I’ve been doing Pac-12 games for six years,” Dickau said. “They’ve kind of changed their approach. They don’t fly people all over the way they used to, so Greg and I have been focused on Wazzu throughout the year, which is fine because it’s less travel. You’re down and back in a day, which makes it easy.”
Six of Dickau’s TV assignments have been postponed due to teams’ COVID-19 issues, including one involving Boise State, coached by former Gonzaga assistant Leon Rice.
“It was Boise State at Wyoming and it got canceled 40 minutes before (tipoff),” said Dickau, who will work Westwood One radio in March for conference and NCAA tournaments. “Boise State wasn’t on the floor and I texted Leon and said, ‘What’s going on here?’ He calls me and said, ‘It looks like the game’s off.’ Five minutes later, they announced it was off.”
Dickau and Waltz called one Gonzaga home game on CBS Sports Network last season, but Dickau did the majority of games from home with COVID restrictions on attendance at games.
Dickau said his approach doesn’t change whether he’s calling Gonzaga, the Mountain West or the Pac-12.
“I’ve always tried to call it straight down the middle with GU games because I knew that I wanted to progress in (broadcasting),” he said. “You can’t be pigeonholed as a homer. With college games, if you want to be respected by coaches and get access, you can’t do that.
“Years ago, I called a regional Santa Clara and Gonzaga game and I had made some comment and a couple days later Coach (Mark) Few walks over literally a couple minutes after I had sat down to watch practice. He goes, ‘I see how it is, you’re a Santa Clara fan now, right?’ I’m like, ‘Coach, come on now, I’m trying to call it right down the middle.’ And he kind of gave me that side eye.”