WISH-TV/THE REPORTER
The Indiana Pacers announced Wednesday that long time Director of Media Relations, David Benner, has died.
Team owner Herb Simon said “David embodied the very best of our organization. He was immensely talented, experienced, and humble, and his passion for our players and the Pacers organization are what made him beloved by the coaches and athletes with whom he worked. David meaningfully impacted countless people here and around the League, and he will be missed. We will continue to keep him and his family in our prayers.”
Benner attended Center Grove schools, Indiana University and IUPUI.
He worked as a sports reporter for the Indianapolis Star newspaper as the Pacers beat writer. Benner also covered IU basketball and Notre Dame football.
In 1994-95 he joined the Pacers as Director of Media Relations, a position he held for 28 years before retiring in 2022.
The Pacers released the following biography of Benner:
“David Benner’s life was a life of sports in his beloved central Indiana. A proud ‘Southsider,’ he attended Center Grove High School, Indiana University, and IUPUI. As a student, he began writing for the Indianapolis Star part-time in the newspaper’s sports department in 1979. He eventually became The Star’s full-time beat writer for a team that was his favorite growing up as a child – the Indiana Pacers.
“After eight years following the NBA, he began covering two iconic programs – Notre Dame football and IU basketball. After a stellar career in sports journalism, he got a call to move into public relations and in 1994-95 he joined the Pacers as Director of Media Relations, a position he held for 28 years before retiring in 2022.”
The team also released the following statements on the passing of David Benner:
Herb Simon, Chairman, CEO and NBA Governor
“David embodied the very best of our organization. He was immensely talented, experienced, and humble, and his passion for our players and the Pacers organization are what made him beloved by the coaches and athletes with whom he worked. David meaningfully impacted countless people here and around the League, and he will be missed. We will continue to keep him and his family in our prayers.”
Rick Fuson, Chief Executive Officer, Pacers Sports and Entertainment
“Few people in the history of our organization have become as synonymous with the Pacers franchise as David Benner. That is the case not only because of his decades as a member of our family, but more so because of his incredible impact on this team and the legacy he has left behind. David was respected across the League and across the city as a consummate professional, and he was a mentor and a friend to so many in our industry and beyond. Most importantly, for me, he was a wonderfully kind and decent man, a person with incredible integrity who always had the best interests of his players and coaches at the center of all he did. The hole left by his passing in the hearts of those who knew him best will never fully heal, and we will miss him and pray for him and his family.”
Kevin Pritchard, Pacers President of Basketball Operations
“It is difficult to put into words just what David Benner meant to the Indiana Pacers, the NBA, his family, and friends. He had an infectious personality and a wonderful sense of humor that was evident to anyone who was ever fortunate enough to meet him. David was fiercely loyal and incredibly protective of this franchise, our players, and coaches for nearly three decades of service in his role, humbly and dutifully providing invaluable guidance and counsel during that time, while also becoming a cherished friend and confidante to so many. David will be sorely missed, and our thoughts during this difficult time are with his wife Jane, his siblings Bill, Larry, and Sue, and all of those who held him so close to their hearts.”