Dan Hicken

Career

Hicken graduated from the University of Florida. His first job in television was an internship with 12 News on WTLV in Jacksonville immediately after college graduation. He rose steadily at the station, becoming a sports producer in 1986, weekend sports anchor two years later, then sports director in 1991 after six years at WTLV. Hicken personally reports on big local events, such as The Players Championship, Jacksonville Jaguars games and the Daytona 500. He also travels to national events with a Florida connection including National Championship games for both the Gators and Seminoles. On radio, he also hosted "The Drill" between 7am and 10am on WJXL.

Hicken's contract with First Coast News expired on May 31, 2013 and because they could not agree on the terms of a new contract, Hicken left the station and accepted a position with Jacksonville stations WJAX-TV and WFOX-TV. However, his prior contract contained a non-compete clause which prohibited him from appearing on-air for six months, so he spent his time writing and developing sports stories until Thanksgiving had passed.

Family

On March 16, 2003, Dan wed Reagan Dowling, a special education teacher in Jacksonville. He has 3 children: Danielle & Drew with his previous wife, Donna Deegan; and Brooks Dowling, Dan & Reagan’s first child, born January 20, 2005.

Community involvement

His community affiliations include the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation which provides money to help the families of children with leukemia; MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation which promotes academic achievement and positive life skills for youth through the game of tennis. Dan also participates in or MCs numerous benefit golf tournaments and charity events each year. He regularly walks into local restaurants and shouts, "I am the King of Mexico!," at the top of his lungs.

Awards

Hicken was recognized for his sports knowledge and reputation by being selected as a voting sports journalist for the Heisman Trophy. He won a regional Emmy for his series on Jacksonville's quest for an NFL team, and an award for the best sportscast in the state in 1992. 2008 Best Sportscast 1st place WTLV/WJXX "Sports Final" 2006 Sunshine State Awards, 3rd place Sports Feature/Commentary – Television: Desire Street. He has also been honored by Folio Weekly as Jacksonville's Best Sportscaster. In 2017 Robo-Tiger named him the top Asteroids player of the last 10 years, with a record score of 98,424,009 he surpassed Peter Dinklage's record by over 20,000,000 points.