Sportscaster Dan Hicks, who was the voice of golf, Olympic swimming and Notre Dame football during a 35-year career at NBC Sports, has died, his family and NBC announced Thursday. He was 64.
Hicks died late Wednesday in Connecticut. He died of an acute illness, according to his wife, Hannah Storm.
“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 was best known as the lead announcer for golf, as well as swimming and skiing at the Olympics and Notre Dame football. He joined NBC in 1992 following three years at CNN.
“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 during an Associated Press interview in September. “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’ favorite sport. He was on the call for 27 tournament victories by Tiger Woods, including three at the U.S. Open. Hicks was a tower announcer from 1995-99 before taking over as the main voice in 2000.
He called 27 U.S. Opens and 23 U.S. Women's Opens as well as the Ryder Cup, PGA Tour and British Open.
“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."
USGA CEO Mike Whan added: “He was a true friend to the game and to the USGA, but more importantly, a wonderful person whose warmth, generosity, and friendship touched everyone fortunate enough to know him.”
Hicks also called swimming at the Olympics eight times with Rowdy Gaines. The duo chronicled Michael Phelps’ eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games and Katie Ledecky’s 14 medals across four Olympics (2012-24).
“Dan Hicks was an extraordinary colleague, friend and person,” NBC Sports’ Rick Cordella, Sam Flood and Molly Solomon said in a statement. “He was an exceptional storyteller and caller of games and events who elevated some of the biggest moments in sports history.
“From Olympic swimming and skiing to Notre Dame Football, numerous other high-profile events and especially as the signature voice of our golf coverage for the last 26 years, Dan’s blend of knowledge style, enthusiasm and humor informed and entertained fans for decades. But far beyond his on-air excellence, Dan was a better person who welcomed teammates with a smile, a joke, or a word of encouragement, sometimes all three in the same sentence."
This was Hicks’ seventh season calling Notre Dame games. He did it from 2013-16 before returning in 2024. He was scheduled to be on the call for the Fighting Irish's game Saturday against Boston College.
Hicks is survived by Storm and their three daughters Hannah, Ellery and Riley.
See AP’s full sports coverage here
FILE - From left, PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem, and broadcaster Dan Hicks look on as Jordan Spieth is presented the FedEx Cup after winning the Tour Championship golf tournament at East Lake Golf Club on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015, in Atlanta. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A Russian delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk arrived Thursday in Kabul for trade and investment talks with Afghanistan's Taliban government, Afghan officials said.
Russia officially recognized the Taliban government in July 2025. It remains the only country to have done so since the former insurgent group seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 in the wake of the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops from the country. Largely isolated from the international community and with a struggling economy, Kabul has been keen to increase foreign investment and open new trade avenues.
After being greeted by an honor guard, Overchuk met with Prime Minister Mohammad Hasan Akhund and Abdul Ghani Baradar, the deputy prime minister for economic affairs.
A statement from Akhund's office said the prime minister's meeting with Overchuk was also attended by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
The Afghan government said in posts on its official X social media account that in their meeting, Baradar stressed Afghanistan’s potential for economic development and investment, highlighting “its strategic location, rich resources and a large workforce of 24 million people of working age.”
During the meeting, Baradar invited Russian companies to invest in Afghanistan in sectors including mineral extraction, the development of factories, infrastructure and special economic zones. He also said there was scope to expand exports of Afghan agricultural products to Russia, and for Russian investment in Afghanistan’s agriculture and livestock farming, the government said.
The deputy prime minister also asked Russia “to provide the necessary facilities for Afghan products in Russian markets and to cooperate in reducing transportation and transit costs,” the government statement said. It said that Baradar also spoke of investment opportunities in railway and road construction projects.
Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Overchuk as saying that Russia intends to develop trade ties with Afghanistan.
“Today our delegation includes more than 70 businessmen representing dozens of Russian companies, many of which already work in Afghanistan, (while) many want to begin working,” Interfax quoted him as saying. “For our part, first of all, we see the task in creating conditions for contacts between business communities to develop normally.”
Overchuk said that companies represented in the delegation are involved in transportation, logistics, agriculture and pharmaceuticals. He said that the Afghan government is interested in Russian fertilizers, including in “building fertilizer production plants directly in Afghanistan.”
“We see a big interest from the government of Afghanistan in developing relations with Russia,” Overchuk said, according to Interfax. “And we are ready to support Afghanistan in that. First and foremost, so that the economy develops, jobs are created, people have normal incomes and can live peacefully.”
While no country apart from Russia has offered formal recognition, the Taliban have engaged in high-level talks with many nations and established some diplomatic and economic ties with several countries, including the governments of China and the United Arab Emirates.
The Afghan government statement on the meeting quoted Overchuk as saying that trade between Russia and Afghanistan had more than doubled in the first eight months of 2026, reaching more than $349 million.
In this handout photo released by the Afghanistan Foreign Ministry, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, left, is greeted by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqi, right, upon his arrival in Kabul, Thursday, Nov 12, 2026.(Afghanistan Foreign Ministry via AP)
In this handout photo released by the Afghanistan Foreign Ministry, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, left, walks after being greeted by Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Mutaqi, right, upon his arrival in Kabul, Thursday, Nov 12, 2026.(Afghanistan Foreign Ministry via AP)
FILE - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk attends a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov at the Grand Kremlin Palace at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (Maxim Shemetov/Pool Photo via AP, File)
