Hannah Lynn Storen Hicks (born June 13, 1962), known professionally as Hannah Storm, is an American television sports journalist, serving as the anchor of ESPN's SportsCenter. She was also host of the NBA Countdown pregame show on ABC as part of the network's National Basketball Association (NBA) Sunday game coverage.
Early life and career
Storm was born in Oak Park, Illinois, and is the daughter of sports executive Mike Storen, who was a commissioner of the American Basketball Association, general manager of that league's Indiana Pacers, Kentucky Colonels and Memphis Sounds franchises, and president of the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA. Her mother, Hannah G. Storen, is a real estate broker. Storm graduated from The Westminster Schools, in Atlanta, Georgia, and in 1983 from the University of Notre Dame.
Storm took her on-air name during her stint as a disc jockey for a hard rock radio station in Corpus Christi, Texas, in the early 1980s.
Beginning on April 3, 2010, Storm would host ESPN Sports Saturday, a show on corporate sibling ABC similar to that network's classic sports series, Wide World of Sports.
In June 2010, alongside fellow anchor Stuart Scott, Storm provided pregame coverage for the 2010 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. She later became host of the NBA Countdown pregame show for the 2010–2011 season, alternating with Stuart Scott, until the 2011–12 NBA season.
When Scott died in 2015, Storm was tasked with announcing the news on SportsCenter. She nearly broke down during the segment. On August 10, 2016, she also announced the death of another colleague, John Saunders, while airing live from Olympics coverage in Rio de Janeiro.
Amazon Prime
In 2018, Storm and Andrea Kremer became the first female duo to call an NFL game, which they did for an Amazon Prime stream of Thursday Night Football.
Personal life
On January 8, 1994, Storm married sportscaster Dan Hicks. The couple have three daughters together. Storm is Catholic.
Storm was born with a large port-wine stain birthmark under her left eye which she talks about publicly in order to raise awareness about the condition. In 2008 Storm created the Hannah Storm Foundation, which raises awareness and provides treatment for children suffering from debilitating and disfiguring vascular birthmarks. She also sits on the boards of the Tribeca Film Festival, Colgate Women's Sports Awards, 21st Century Kids 1st Foundation, and has done extensive work with the March of Dimes, Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Boys and Girls Club, Special Olympics, the Women's Sports Foundation, Vascular Birthmark Institute, University of Notre Dame and the Diocese of Bridgeport. Storm also founded Brainstormin' Productions for the creation of educational and inspirational programming. In May 2011, Storm received "Celebrated Mom" award from LifeWorx, Inc., Chappaqua, New York. This award is given to a mother who inspires others, in spite of career and family challenges.
Notre Dame Inspirations funds a journalism scholarship in her name at her alma mater.
Storm has also contributed extensively to several magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Nick Jr., Family Circle, Child and Notre Dame Magazine.
Accidental burning
On December 11, 2012, Storm sustained second-degree burns to her chest and hands, and first-degree burns to her neck and face resulting from a propane-gas grill accident at her home. Her 15-year-old daughter alerted authorities to the accident. Storm lost her eyebrows, eyelashes and roughly half her hair. After receiving medical care from the Burn Center at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, New York, Storm returned to the air January 1, 2013, co-hosting the Rose Parade on ABC while wearing a bandage on her left hand and sporting hair extensions, and returned to SportsCenter on January 13, 2013, to host the Sunday-morning edition with Bob Ley.
Career timeline
- 1989–1992: CNN Sports Tonight Anchor
- 1995, 1997, 1999: World Series Host
- Hannah Storm Received the "Celebrated Mom" Award from LifeWorx, Inc, Chappaqua, NY in May 2011.
Bibliography
- Notre Dame Inspirations: The University's Most Successful Alumni Talk About Life, Spirituality, Football and Everything Else Under the Dome, Doubleday, 2006.
- Go Girl! Raising Healthy Confident and Successful Daughters through Sports, Sourcebooks, 2002 and 2011