Sportscaster Dan Hicks, who was the voice of golf, Olympic swimming and Notre Dame football during a 35-year career at NBC Sports, has died, his family and NBC announced Thursday. He was 64.
Hicks died late Wednesday in Connecticut. He died of an acute illness, according to his wife, Hannah Storm.
“Our family is heartbroken by the sudden and unexpected passing of Dan,” Storm said in a statement. “He was a devoted husband of over 30 years, loving father to our three daughters, and cherished friend to so many. His loss is immeasurable.
“Dan was truly one of a kind and, quite simply, the person everyone wanted to be around. When he walked into a room, he brought the energy, the laughter and the people together. He was endlessly kind, thoughtful and funny, and he made everyone feel like they mattered.”
Hicks was best known as the lead announcer for golf, as well as swimming and skiing at the Olympics and Notre Dame football. He joined NBC in 1992 following three years at CNN.
“I’m incredibly lucky to stay at one place this long. It takes a lot of things going your way as far as NBC continuing to have the properties that I’ve been a part of through the years,” he said during an Associated Press interview in September. “So lots of variables, lots of things that can happen in your career. But I think I appreciate it more and more the longer it’s been.”
Golf was Hicks’ favorite sport. He was on the call for 27 tournament victories by Tiger Woods, including three at the U.S. Open. Hicks was a tower announcer from 1995-99 before taking over as the main voice in 2000.
“He was a great quarterback, a point guard. If you listen to his broadcast, to me he was terrific at passing the ball around,” NBC golf commentator Roger Maltbie said. “He always had a question. He always got you engaged. That’s a big part of the job.”
Hicks called 27 U.S. Opens and 23 U.S. Women’s Opens. USGA CEO Mike Whan said in a statement that Hicks “was a true friend to the game and to the USGA, but more importantly, a wonderful person whose warmth, generosity, and friendship touched everyone fortunate enough to know him.”
Hicks also called the Ryder Cup, British Open and PGA Tour events, including The Players Championship.
“Dan’s voice filled our living rooms with his steady narration of countless golf broadcasts, calling some of the game’s biggest moments,” the PGA Tour said in a statement. “The sound of his voice is woven into our memories of the game, and the warmth he brought to the broadcast was matched only by the kindness he showed those around him.”
Hicks also called swimming at the Olympics eight times with Rowdy Gaines. The duo chronicled Michael Phelps’ eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games and Katie Ledecky’s 14 medals across four Olympics (2012-24).
“Dan Hicks was an extraordinary colleague, friend and person,” NBC Sports’ Rick Cordella, Sam Flood and Molly Solomon said in a statement. “He was an exceptional storyteller and caller of games and events who elevated some of the biggest moments in sports history.
“Dan’s blend of knowledge style, enthusiasm and humor informed and entertained fans for decades. But far beyond his on-air excellence, Dan was a better person who welcomed teammates with a smile, a joke, or a word of encouragement, sometimes all three in the same sentence.”
Hicks worked a total of 16 Olympics — nine Summer, seven Winter — with his first being the 1992 Barcelona Games as a host for the Olympic triplecast. He was on the call for alpine skiing for the last four Winter Games as well as speed skating in 2002, ‘06 and ’10.
Two-time Olympic champion Ted Ligety, who was NBC’s alpine skiing analyst the last two Olympics, said Hicks excelled at calling the race but also telling the athlete’s story.
“I was always in awe of his ability to know so much about so many sports so fluidly. And his curiosity, he didn’t come in ever with this idea that he knew what was up — he asked a million questions and was really curious. He was able to instantly bring that into the broadcast,” Ligety said. “It’s fun to sit there next to somebody and watch them at their craft at such a high level. Beyond that, just fun to sit next to him and be with him and after a call, share a beer. Just a genuinely fun and awesome dude. The amazing part is his on-air personality and likeableness was only greater in real life.”
This was Hicks’ seventh season calling Notre Dame games. He did it from 2013-16 before returning in 2024. He was scheduled to be on the call for the Fighting Irish’s game Saturday against Boston College.
Hicks also called regional NFL games on NBC from 1992-97, five French Opens and some NBA coverage from 1992-2000.
Hicks is survived by Storm and their three daughters Hannah, Ellery and Riley.
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AP Sports Writer Pat Graham in Denver and AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson in Jacksonville, Florida, contributed to this report.
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