Dan Hicks, NBC’s voice of golf and Olympic swimming, dies at 64 after acute illness
Dan Hicks, NBC’s lead announcer for golf and Olympic swimming, died late Wednesday in Connecticut, his family and NBC announced Thursday. He also served as a play-by-play voice for Notre Dame football.
Hicks was 64 and worked at NBC Sports during a 35-year career, the family said; his wife, ESPN broadcaster Hannah Storm, said he died of an acute illness. “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 is survived by Storm and their three daughters.
Hicks joined NBC in 1992 after three years at CNN and reflected on his long tenure in an Associated Press interview in September. “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. “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’s favorite sport and he called many of its marquee moments; he was on the call for 27 tournament victories by Tiger Woods, including three at the US Open. He also covered the Ryder Cup, the 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.”
At the Olympics Hicks worked swimming broadcasts eight times alongside Rowdy Gaines and was part of coverage for major swimming achievements, including Michael Phelps’s eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games and Katie Ledecky’s 14 medals across four Olympics. He worked a total of 16 Olympics, his first role coming at the 1992 Barcelona Games as a host for the Olympic triplecast.
Beyond golf and Olympic swimming, Hicks’s broadcasting résumé included regional NFL games on NBC from 1992 to 1997, five French Opens and some NBA coverage from 1992 to 2000.
Hicks was in his seventh season calling Notre Dame games, having worked the role from 2013 to 2016 before returning in 2024, and he was scheduled to be on the call for the Fighting Irish's game on Saturday against Boston College.