Storm said she was "heartbroken" by his "sudden and unexpected passing." The statement, which she posted on Instagram, called Hicks "truly one of a kind" and "endlessly kind, thoughtful and funny." He was, she wrote, "the person everyone wanted to be around," someone who "brought the energy, the laughter and the people together." She also called him a "devoted husband of over 30 years" and a "loving father." Besides Storm, he is survived by three daughters, Hannah, Ellery and Riley. The family had lived in Greenwich, Connecticut, since 1995.

Hicks was born in Tucson, Arizona, and graduated from the University of Arizona in 1984 with a journalism degree. He started in local Tucson media at KVOA, then became a national sports anchor at a cable news network in 1989. That is where he met Storm. After three years of hosting sports programs there, he joined NBC Sports in 1992.

At NBC he worked on NBA, NFL and tennis coverage, and his first Olympics came that same summer in Barcelona. He went on to work 16 Olympic Games, nine Summer and seven Winter, and became the lead play-by-play voice for Olympic swimming and skiing. In Beijing in 2008 he covered Michael Phelps' eight gold medals and called Jason Lezak's world-record relay performance. He later covered Katie Ledecky's 14 medals across four Olympics. His work on the 2024 Paris Olympics earned him a Sports Emmy in the Outstanding Live Special - Championship Event category.

Golf was the other pillar of his career. He was lead announcer for 27 U.S. Opens and 23 U.S. Women's Opens, and he called 27 tournament victories for Woods, three of them U.S. Open wins. He was the signature voice of NBC's PGA Tour coverage for 26 years, and he was also the network's lead announcer for Notre Dame football.

NBC Sports executives Rick Cordella, Sam Flood and Molly Solomon called Hicks an "exceptional storyteller" who elevated "some of the biggest moments in sports history." NBC Sports said his "blend of knowledge, style, enthusiasm and humor informed and entertained fans for decades." On the Today show on Thursday, Craig Melvin became emotional while paying tribute, and Dylan Dreyer comforted him. "Our thoughts are with Hannah and those three adorable girls," Melvin said. "Over the years, they have become part of our family." Al Roker also paid tribute.

Rowdy Gaines called Hicks "the best person to be along his side for so many years." Roger Maltbie said, "This is not losing a colleague and a nice guy. This is losing a pal." Jimmy Roberts said Hicks "never made it about himself" and had become synonymous with hosting the Payne Stewart award.