Since being named King’s Director of Athletics in June 2011, David Hicks has guided the Tornado through a period of tremendous success in both competition and the classroom. During Hicks’ 13-year tenure:

• The average GPA for student athletes has remained above a 3.0 each year.
• Sixteen student athletes have received the Conference Carolinas Elite 23 Award for having the top GPA at the Conference Championships
• Thirty-eight student athletes have been named the Conference Carolinas Scholar Athlete of the Year for their respective sport
• Nine student athletes have been named Academic All-American.
• The NCAA Federal Graduation Rate reached a ten-year high in 2019-20 at 75%
• The NCAA Student Athlete Academic Success Rate reached an all-time high in 2022-23 at 76%
• Tornado athletic teams have won a combined 35 Conference Carolinas Messick Awards for sportsmanship, including the overall Messick Award in 2015 and 2020
• Tornado athletic teams have won a total of 36 Conference Carolinas regular season or post-season championships
• The Women’s Wrestling and Cycling programs have combined for 12 National Championships.
• Four sports, acrobatics and tumbling, esports, bass fishing and women’s triathlon have been added to King’s athletic offerings.

• NCAA Division II Management Council (2024 – Present)
• NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel (2019-2023)
• NCAA Men’s Basketball Southeast Regional Advisory Committee (2018-2021)
• Division II Athletic Directors’ Association Board of Directors (2015-2020)
• Division II Athletic Directors’ Association Regulatory Advisory Board (2015 – 2018)
• NCAA Culture of Compliance Summit (2017)
• NCAA Women’s Basketball Southeast Regional Advisory Council (2015-2018)
• NCAA Softball Rules Committee (2014 – 2018)
• Chair of Conference Carolinas Athletic Director’s Council (2016 – 2018)
• Chair of Conference Carolinas Student Athlete Affairs sub-committee (2011-2015)
• NCAA Softball Southeast Regional Advisory Council (2011-2015)

Prior to arriving at King in June 2011, Hicks spent 13 years at Rhodes College as Assistant Athletic Director, and the last 6 years as Head Softball Coach.  As a Coach, Hicks had a winning track record, and was Rhodes' all-time leader in softball wins when he departed in 2011. His teams averaged 27 wins per year over his last 3 seasons, making the SCAC Championship game in 2009. In his last four seasons alone, 37 players were named to the All-SCAC team, including one SCAC Pitcher of the Year, and he coached nine All-Atlantic Region players. His teams maintained a 3.4 team GPA during his tenure, with 32 players making the SCAC Academic Honor Roll and 19 players earning NFCA Scholar Athlete awards.

Hicks earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, in 1995, where he was a four-year starter on the baseball team. He earned his Master of Arts in Sport Management from Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio, in 1996. Prior to his time at Rhodes College, Hicks worked in the athletic ticketing and marketing offices at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.

He and his wife Cindy celebrated their 27^th wedding anniversary in 2024, and are active members of Central Christian Church, where he serves as a Elder and co-teaches a Bible Fellowship class.  They reside in Bristol and have four boys: Alex, a 2021 King graduate, Daniel, who will enroll in graduate school at King this Fall and play baseball, Stephen, a sophomore at Carson Newman, and Luke, a junior at Tennessee High School.