Dan Hicks Dead: NBC Olympics Broadcaster Was 64

Dan Hicks, the veteran NBC Sports broadcaster who spent more than three decades calling some of the biggest moments in golf, Olympic swimming and college football, died Wednesday in Connecticut following an acute illness. He was 64.

His death was confirmed Thursday by his wife, ESPN broadcaster Hannah Storm, who described his passing as sudden and unexpected.

“I am heartbroken by the sudden loss of our friend Dan Hicks,” Mark Lazarus, the CEO of Versant who oversaw NBC Sports for more than a decade, said in a statement. “For decades, I had the privilege of working alongside Dan, but our friendship extended far beyond NBC Sports. Dan was one of the very best at what he did, but what I will remember most is the person he was: a loyal friend and a devoted husband and father. My family and I are thinking of Hannah, their children and the entire Hicks family. We will miss him.”

Hicks was a fixture at NBC Sports for 34 years, joining the network in 1992 and becoming its lead golf play-by-play announcer in 2000. Over the next 26 years, he served as the voice of some of the sport’s most prestigious tournaments, including the U.S Open, Ryder Cup and Players Championship, and called 27 of Tiger Woods’ tournament victories.

He was also widely recognized for his Olympic coverage, particularly his partnership with analyst Rowdy Gaines on NBC’s swimming broadcasts. The pair called Michael Phelps’ historic eight-gold-medal performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Katie Ledecky’s medal-winning performances across four Olympic Games. Hicks also covered Olympic skiing and speed skating, along with Notre Dame football, the NFL and NBA.

Most recently, Hicks returned to the broadcast booth for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, where he served as NBC’s lead alpine skiing play-by-play commentator. The Games marked his 16th Olympic assignment with the network, a career that spanned eight consecutive Summer Olympics calling swimming and seven Winter Games covering skiing and speed skating.

In a statement Thursday, NBC Sports remembered Hicks as an “exceptional storyteller” whose commentary elevated some of the most memorable moments in sports history.

Born in Tuscon, Ariz., Hicks graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in journalism. He began his broadcasting career in local radio and television in Tuscon before joining CNN in 1989, where he worked as a sports anchor. He moved to NBC Sports three years later, initially covering the NFL and NBA before becoming one of the network’s most recognizable voices.

Hicks began his 35th season with NBC Sports earlier this year and was in his seventh season calling Notre Dame football. He had been scheduled to announce the team’s game against Boston College on Saturday.

In addition to his sports broadcasting career, Hicks earned a Sports Emmy as part of NBCUniversal’s coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics, which won for outstanding live coverage.

Hicks is survived by Storm, whom he married in 1994, and their three daughters, Hannah, Ellery and Riley.