Steve Hicks, part of the Hicks Texas radio dynasty, has passed away. His death comes a month after his older brother Tom Hicks died. Hicks was best known as a pioneer of local management agreements – later known as duopolies – that helped transform the U.S. radio industry.

“I’m deeply saddened to learn of Steve Hicks’ passing,” Texas Association of Broadcasters President Oscar Rodriguez said in an exclusive statement to Inside Radio. “He was a passionate, dynamic and whip-smart broadcaster dedicated to advancing local radio in a multitude of Texas markets. Steve cherished the extraordinarily talented teams who drove their companies’ success. He was greatly admired and respected throughout the Lone Star State, garnering one of the Texas Association of Broadcasters’ highest honors, our Broadcaster of the Year Award in 1996. Steve’s spirit of leadership extended far beyond the radio industry to include the University of Texas at Austin and multiple charities. Texas radio and the entire Texas business community have lost a titan, and he will be greatly missed.”

The son of John Hicks Jr., a World War II veteran and advertising executive who entered station ownership in 1959 with KOLE Port Arthur, Steve Hicks began his broadcast career as a part-time board operator at his father’s Beaumont, TX radio station. After graduating from the University of Texas in 1972, he returned home, working across news, sales, accounting, and programming before buying his first radio station at age 29. In 1979, he co-founded Hicks Communications, expanding into major markets including Dallas, Austin, Tulsa, and Baton Rouge. He held top executive roles at GulfStar Broadcasting, SFX Broadcasting, Capstar Broadcasting, and AMFM, which was eventually absorbed by Clear Channel.

During the mid-1980s, Hicks conceived the LMA model, applying shared management concepts to radio stations in Jackson, MS. The FCC approved the arrangement in 1992, and it soon spread nationwide, influencing the deregulatory climate that culminated in the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Outside of his broadcast ownership career, Hicks served three terms as a University of Texas System Regent.