NEW YORK (Diya TV) — Dan Hicks, the NBC Sports broadcaster who called some of golf’s defining moments and Olympic swimming’s biggest races, died late Wednesday in Connecticut after an acute illness, his wife, Hannah Storm, said Thursday. He was 64.
Storm, an ESPN anchor, announced his death in a family statement. She said Hicks was her husband of more than 30 years, a loving father to their three daughters and a cherished friend. Their daughters are Hannah, Ellery and Riley.
Hicks joined NBC Sports in 1992 after three years at CNN. The network made him its lead golf play-by-play announcer in 2000. He called 27 U.S. Opens and 23 U.S. Women’s Opens, and followed Tiger Woods through 27 tournament victories. apnews.com
One of Hicks’ most remembered golf calls came at the 2008 U.S. Open. Woods sank a late putt to force a playoff against Rocco Mediate, then won the next day. Hicks also called Woods’ 2008 U.S. Open victory, one of the three U.S. Open wins he covered for the golfer.
That summer, Hicks and swimming analyst Rowdy Gaines called another dramatic finish at the Beijing Olympics. The U.S. men’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay team, anchored by Jason Lezak, overtook France in the final leg. The win helped Michael Phelps keep his pursuit of eight gold medals alive.
Hicks called swimming at eight consecutive Summer Olympics, covering Phelps in Beijing and Katie Ledecky across four Games. He also called alpine skiing and speed skating at the Winter Olympics. NBC had selected him for his 15th Olympic play-by-play assignment at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games.
His assignments extended beyond golf and the Olympics. Hicks called Notre Dame football from 2013 to 2016, returned to the role in 2024 and was scheduled to call Saturday’s game against Boston College. He also worked on NFL, NBA, tennis and gymnastics broadcasts during his NBC career.
Hicks started in radio and local television in Tucson, Arizona, where he grew up. He graduated from the University of Arizona with a journalism degree, then joined CNN in 1989 before moving to NBC three years later. Over more than three decades, he became one of the network’s central play-by-play voices.
NBC Sports executives Rick Cordella, Sam Flood and Molly Solomon called Hicks an exceptional storyteller and colleague. They praised his knowledge, enthusiasm and humor, and said he welcomed coworkers with a joke or an encouraging word. The PGA Tour said his voice accompanied many of golf’s biggest moments and remembered the kindness he showed people around him.
Hicks is survived by Storm and their three daughters.