Dan Hicks was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, where he dreamed of working for NBC Sports from a young age. He attended Sabino High School before earning a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Arizona in 1984. His early career began in local Tucson radio, then transitioned to TV as the weekend sports anchor at KVOA-TV,  before joining CNN in 1989.

At CNN, Hicks hosted CNN Sports Tonight on weekends and anchored college football and basketball preview shows for three years. He joined NBC Sports in June 1992, fulfilling a lifelong dream, and quickly established himself as a versatile presence. In his early years at NBC, he called more than 50 NFL games, NBA basketball, and various Olympic events. He became the lead anchor of NBC’s golf coverage in 2000, a role he has held for over two decades.

Today, Hicks is widely regarded as the voice of NBC’s PGA Tour coverage, calling marquee events. He is also a fixture at the Summer Olympics, serving as the swimming play-by-play commentator since 1996. Additionally, in 2024, he became NBC’s play-by-play voice for Notre Dame football, a role he previously held from 2013 to 2016.