Travis Hicks journey as a sports journalist has not been easy. Just like many Black journalists who have paved the way, nothing was handed to him.
Hicks is a Ferris State alumnus who has been working with FOX 47 as a sports and news reporter and anchor, covering many sports in the Lansing area.
Hicks began his education at Rochester University in Rochester, Michigan. During his first year, he was dismissed from the university due to poor grades. He thought that was the end of his academic career.
“I was working at Kerby’s Koney Island, I thought there was no way I was going back to college,” Hicks said. “I had bad grades and I was partying too much, but I listened to what my grandfather told me before he passed away and decided to go back and get my degree.”
Hick’s grandfather is the main reason he is in the world of sports journalism. Before he passed away in 2019, he would tell Hicks how his dream for him was to be on TV, reporting and interviewing people. Hicks was able to combine his love for sports with the passions that were sparked by his grandfather.
After enrolling at Ferris in the fall of 2019, he spent time as a sports reporter for the Ferris State athletic department, covering various sports and even becoming the first student to host an episode of the Ferris Sports Update.
After applying to over 700 jobs near the end of college, this success and experience paid off and led him to accept a position at FOX 47 as a producer and later become an on-air talent reporting and anchoring for sports and news.
Coming to Ferris was a shift for Hicks, but a good one. After growing up in Oak Park, Michigan, Ferris introduced him to a very diverse culture on campus. This amount of diversity shaped how he would interact in the workforce.
“As a kid from metro Detroit, going to Ferris State was the best thing for me. I met people of different races and that allowed me to use those real-life experiences I had and implement that into the workforce,” Hicks said. “I just try to be a friend to the community; there’s different conversations for different people. I walk into the room and make myself comfortable and don’t treat anybody differently. For me, being able to connect with people and getting them to trust me is huge.”
Being in media as a Black person, where it is primarily white people, can be difficult.
“Sometimes as a Black person, you aren’t presented with the same opportunities as other people,” Hicks said. “When I got to FOX, they told me that I wouldn’t be able to be on-air for a whole year. I felt like I wasn’t getting a fair shot. I worked hard for three months and secured a spot on air. At first, I tried to blame it all on race but then I realized if I work harder, they won’t have a choice but to give me that opportunity.”
Being an attendee at the National Association of Black Journalists convention to connect with people in situations similar to Hicks have allowed him to connect with and network with some of his biggest idols.
Hicks said the NABJ allowed him to meet people from all over the country and people that come from many different walks of life.
The motivation and hunger that was instilled in Hicks after being in a directionless place when he was dismissed from Rochester has fueled him in his journey. That feeling has guided him into trying to fulfill his dream of being a sports reporter for ESPN in the future.