David Hicks enters his second year as director of athletics at West Virginia State University, bringing a leadership philosophy built on student-athlete achievement, responsible financial management, and strong partnerships across campus and the community.
Hicks’ first year focused heavily on enhancing the student-athlete experience. In the spring of 2026, WVSU hosted the Stinger Awards—the department's first in-person awards ceremony—celebrating Yellow Jacket success across all sports. The department also established a celebration dinner honoring student-athletes who achieved a 4.0 GPA during the 2025-26 academic year. WVSU student-athletes posted a collective GPA above 3.0 in both semesters, marking the 15th and 16th consecutive semesters reaching that benchmark.
WVSU Athletics collaborated with multiple campus departments throughout the year to host student-athlete cookouts at soccer matches, expand programming at the spring football game, and partner with the admissions office on the WVSU early enrollment program.
Community outreach remained a department priority, with each varsity team completing at least one community service project each semester. Yellow Jacket student-athletes combined for more than 1,000 hours of community service overall, including weekly visits by student-athlete representatives to Dunbar Primary School for a youth reading program.
That momentum translated to competitive success on the field and court. WVSU women’s soccer captured the Mountain East Conference South Division title and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the third time in four years, while women’s volleyball reached the MEC championship match for the third consecutive season. The men’s tennis program recorded the most successful campaign in school history, earning the program’s first NCAA tournament berth.
Before arriving at WVSU, Hicks served as athletic director at King University from 2011 to 2025, managing a $2.9 million operating budget and overseeing 38 full-time coaches and staff members. During his tenure at King, he added five varsity sports: women’s flag football, acrobatics and tumbling, bass fishing, women’s triathlon, and esports. He also reinstated the King University Athletics Hall of Fame, inducting 44 members, while student-athletes maintained a cumulative GPA above 3.0 for 13 consecutive years.
Prior to King, Hicks spent 13 years at Rhodes College as assistant athletic director for facilities and head softball coach. He rebuilt the Lynx softball program, guiding the team to four conference tournament appearances in six seasons and a runner-up finish in 2009. His teams set school records with 29 overall wins in 2009 and 27 regular-season victories in 2010 while consistently maintaining team GPAs above 3.4.
Hicks remains active in national collegiate governance, currently serving on the NCAA Division II/III Women’s Basketball Rules Committee. His past committee appointments include the Softball Rules Committee, the Playing Rules Oversight Panel, the Division II Management Council, and multiple regional advisory committees.
He and his wife Cindy have been married for 29 years, and have 4 children. Alex and wife Kaley reside in Kingsport, TN, and have a daughter (Amelia). Daniel and his wife Jazmin live in Arden, TN, where Daniel teaches history and coaches baseball at Christ School. Stephen is a senior at Tennessee Tech and Luke is a freshman at the University of Alabama at Huntsville.
