DALTON, Ga. -- Dalton State College is building on proven leadership with the appointment of Ben Rickett as athletic director. Rickett serves in a key role on the college’s senior leadership team; the appointment was effective Dec. 1.  
 
Rickett has served as interim athletic director since March 2025 and now assumes the role permanently. In addition to serving as athletic director, Rickett will continue as director of golf and men’s head golf coach.  
 
“I am very appreciative to Ben for his willingness to continue his service as athletic director in a more permanent capacity,” Fuchko said. “Dalton State athletics continually performs at a very high level, and this is due to leaders—inside and outside athletics—who have made such a difference, and I know Ben will continue to elevate the department’s ongoing success.”  
 
Rickett joined Dalton State in 2012 as the college’s first director of golf and added the role of assistant athletic director of development in 2022. Under his leadership, the men’s golf team has achieved remarkable success, including two NAIA National Championships, three individual NAIA National Championships, nine Southern States Athletic Conference titles and five Jack Nicklaus Award winners. He has earned numerous Coach of the Year honors for his leadership.  
 
A native of Surrey, England, Rickett is a former world top-100 amateur player. He came to Dalton State from his alma mater, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he helped build the Mocs program into a national power as both a coach and student-athlete. Rickett and his wife, Shelley, live in Dalton with their three sons.

Story courtesy of Dalton State