Hicks is finishing up his ninth year with the SSAC, where he oversees all communications, sports information, awards processes and marketing efforts of the conference. He also participates in championships administration and sponsorship fulfillment. In 2021, Hicks earned the NAIA's prestigious Clarence "Ike" Pearson Award for lifetime achievement. He currently serves on the NAIA-SIDA Board of Directors.
With the SSAC
- Facilitated partnerships with SIDEARM, BoxOut, Hudl TV and HomeTown Ticketing
- Launched Scholar-Athlete Team awards
- Started weekly SSAC Student-Athlete Features
- Introduced SSAC Games of the Week
- In first year, increased Twitter followers by 43%, Facebook 'likes' by 1,355% and Instagram followers by 196%
- Increased branding with addition of SSAC backdrops and falcon flags
Prior to the SSAC
Hicks spent 10 years and four months as sports information director at the University of Mobile. There, he oversaw all communications needs for 18 varsity sports, ranging from gameday management and staffing, stats, photography, videography, social media, recaps, broadcasting and more.
At UMobile, Hicks started online broadcasts for home baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball and basketball games, and pushed for the current partnership with industry leader Stretch Internet. He also started the department’s social media presence from scratch, building it up to a current No. 4 ranking at naiasocialmedia.com.
The 2005 Mississippi State graduate is a two-time SSAC SID of the Year and was the only NAIA SID to win 2016 NAIA-SIDA Publications and Media Contest awards in publications, infographics, social media and video.
He is an active member of the College Sports Communicators (CSC) and NAIA-SIDA. He has worked numerous NAIA National Championships, serving as media coordinator, statistician, public address announcer, photographer, producer and more for men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis and softball.