The morning after UConn Magazine visited \u201cThe Dan Patrick Show\u201d studio for a story about associate producer and board operator Marvin Prince, the zingers begin to fly on the air.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarvin wants to change his name. He would like to be known as Prince Marvin instead of Marvin Prince,\u201d says Patrick, the award-winning sportscaster who helped make ESPN\u2019s \u201cSportsCenter\u201d appointment viewing. He also hosted NBC\u2019s \u201cFootball Night in America\u201d and now helms this nationally syndicated sports talk show played on nearly 400 radio stations and streamed on NBC\u2019s Peacock for three hours every weekday morning.\u201cI said OK. If you want to be known as Prince Marvin, we can do that. I thought it was a little bold on your part.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seton O\u2019Connor, director of operations \u2014 and, like Prince, one of Patrick\u2019s four on-air sidekicks, dubbed \u201cThe Danettes\u201d by Basketball Hall of Famer Reggie Miller \u2014 quickly chimes in: \u201cMaybe the First Prince of Dan\u2019s Air; like Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Just rolled that right off the top of my head.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really hard getting my head through the door this morning,\u201d says Prince, a UConn alum and mega-fan who often wears Huskies apparel to the studio and keeps a UConn basketball jersey on the back of his chair, shown every time the camera sweeps through the studio during the televised simulcast.<\/p>\n
Patrick snaps back: \u201cI thought you\u2019d come in with sunglasses on, maybe a limo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prince\u2019s wasn\u2019t quite a from-the-mailroom rise, but close.<\/p>\n
While performing freelance technical work for televised events in New York City and Connecticut, Prince learned about the construction of Patrick\u2019s new studio in Milford, not far from his home in Bridgeport, where he lives with his wife Jillian (DeMasi) Prince \u201907 (CLAS) and their son, Lorenzo. Having gained production experience as an ESPN intern, he was hired in 2019 to help on the build and stayed on as sound engineer, one of several \u201cback-room guys\u201d working on the show known for its incisive, raucous interviews with A-list figures in sports, media, and pop culture \u2014 as well as the witty banter among the on-air talent and with listeners and interviewees.<\/p>\n
Even as he made his first on-camera appearance in the show\u2019s video spoof of the 2021 Sports Emmy Awards, wearing a white tuxedo jacket and holding a microphone for a mock celebrity red carpet interview of Patrick, Prince didn\u2019t anticipate becoming a Danette.<\/p>\n