Hicks' high school grades were below the 2.0 GPA meaning that he should have been ineligible to play as a freshman, but he was on the roster due to an oversight by head coach Ray Meyer. Even though he had a B- average during his first quarter at DePaul, when another Chicago area school reported that he should have been ineligible, the National Collegiate Athletic Association investigated and ruled him ineligible. As of January 5, 1974, Hicks was still a highly regarded performer for the DePaul team and had just made an early season All-Tournament team. However, he was sidelined pending a meeting to consider his eligibility before DePaul's January 6 game against .
