Dan Hicks thought it was incredible when he reached 30 years at NBC Sports. As he reaches another milestone, he considers it pretty remarkable.
Hicks begins his 35th season at the network on Sunday night when Notre Dame faces Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
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“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," Hicks 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.”
Besides calling Notre Dame football, Hicks is best known as the lead announcer for golf, as well as swimming and skiing at the Olympics.
Hicks has become one of NBC's steady play-by-play voices despite not having done it before arriving at the network in 1992 after three years at CNN.
His first experience with play-by-play was for regional coverage of NFL games from 1992-97 when NBC had the AFC package. His commentary partners during those six seasons included Joe Namath, Joe Gibbs, Jim Kelly, Bob Trumpy and Cris Collinsworth.
“It was always a dream of mine, that was always the goal, but all I had ever done was studio. So when I got to NBC, I was the last guy on the depth chart and I’d always have the newest analyst to break in,” Hicks said. “I think it helps you to work with a bunch of different people. You work with different styles, and as a play-by-play guy, you learn to work them into the telecast because they’re all different. That’s what makes it fun.”
The 2028 Los Angeles Games will be the ninth time Hicks will call swimming with Rowdy Gaines. The duo chronicled Michael Phelps' eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Katie Ledecky's 14 medals across four Olympics (2012-24).
Hicks credited Phelps for swimming's popularity beyond once every year years.
“He put swimming on the map in this country and he made it appointment television at the Olympics to watch swimming. Not that anybody didn’t care about swimming before he came around, but he brought it to a whole other level,” Hicks said. "Rowdy will tell you that he does more events now outside of the Olympics during the course of the calendar year than he ever dreamt that he would do. And the reason is Michael Phelps.”
Golf, though, remains Hicks's favorite sport. He has been on the call for 27 tournament victories by Tiger Woods, including three at the U.S. Open.
Hicks also has called the Ryder Cup, PGA Tour and British Open.
“It’s the sport that I just think is the most intriguing to me as far as the drama that it is able to produce with one person trying to win a big championship coming down to the final nine holes," he said. “A lot of that stems from my love for the sport and also the crew that we’ve had for so long.”
This will be Hicks' seventh season calling Notre Dame games. He did it from 2013-16 before returning in 2024.
He has called his share of Shamrock Series neutral-site games, but the setting inside Lambeau Field could be one of the best yet.
“Notre Dame and Wisconsin at Lambeau Field is big enough as it is, but to kind of have its own little spot on Sunday night makes it even more special,” Hicks said. “I can’t imagine a better way to kick off 35 than this. I’ve been looking forward to this game for a long, long time. And again, it’s another one of those moments in your NBC career where you kind of pinch yourself and say: ‘Boy, they pay me to do this? This is off-the-charts stuff.’”
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