Longtime NBC Sports voice Dan Hicks, whose voice was the soundtrack to the exploits of Tiger Woods and Michael Phelps, has died. He was 64.
Hicks had been suffering from “an acute illness,” but his death was “sudden and unexpected,” according to a statement released by his wife, his former NBC Sports colleague and current ESPN anchor Hannah Storm. His death was announced Thursday morning in a statement released by NBC Sports’ top executives, Rick Cordella, Sam Flood and Molly Solomon.
The PGA TOUR, the single property with which Hicks was most identified, also released a statement Thursday. Hicks was NBC’s lead golf voice for 26 years, a period that coincided with Tiger Woods’ prime years. Versant-owned Golf Channel, which for most of those years was part of NBC Sports, also discussed his death on-air.
Hicks was also NBC’s lead Olympic swimming voice, working alongside Rowdy Gaines during a period that spanned Michael Phelps’ career, and its top voice on Olympic skiing — including this past year’s Milan-Cortina Games.
While his most memorable calls were on the course and in the pool, Hicks was a versatile announcer whose NBC career included roles on numerous properties. He was the current voice of Notre Dame football and was listed on NBC’s press release this week as calling this weekend’s game against Boston College. His final assignment appears to have been Stanford-Notre Dame in October.
Hicks also contributed to NBC’s coverage of the NFL, where he was at one point the network’s #2 voice and called one of its Wild Card Saturday games, and its Dick Ebersol-era run with the NBA from 1990-2002. His NBA role included occasional turns in the studio filling in for Bob Costas, including on high-profile events like Christmas Day games, in addition to some play-by-play and sideline reporting.
He joined NBC Sports in 1992 after previously working for CNN and on local television in Tuscon, Arizona.
His passing comes at a time when his wife, Storm, is recovering from a battle with cancer that has caused her to miss recent assignments for ESPN. It was just the latest health-related adversity for Storm, who previously battled cancer two years ago and suffered burns in a household accident in 2012.
