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’ 12-year tenure:

• The average GPA for student-athletes has remained above a 3.0 each year
• 15 student-athletes have received the Conference Carolinas Elite 23 Award for having the top GPA at the conference championships
• 37 student-athletes have been named the Conference Carolinas Scholar-Athletes of the Year for their respective sport
• 9 student-athletes have been named Academic All-America
• The NCAA Federal Graduation Rate reached a 10-year high in 2019-20 at 75 percent
• The NCAA Student-Athlete Academic Success Rate reached an all-time high in 2022-23 at 76 percent
• Tornado athletic teams have won a combined 32 Conference Carolinas Messick Awards for sportsmanship, including the overall Messick Award in 2015 and 2020
• Tornado athletic teams have won a total of 35 Conference Carolinas regular season or postseason championships
• The women’s wrestling and cycling programs have combined for 12 national championships
• 4 sports, acrobatics & tumbling, esports, bass fishing and women’s triathlon have been added to King’s athletic offerings

• NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel (2019-Present)
• NCAA Men’s Basketball Southeast Regional Advisory Committee (2018-21)
• Division II Athletic Directors’ Association Board of Directors (2015-20)
• Division II Athletic Directors’ Association Regulatory Advisory Board (2015-18)
• NCAA Culture of Compliance Summit (2017)
• NCAA Women’s Basketball Southeast Regional Advisory Council (2015-18)
• NCAA Softball Rules Committee (2014-18)
• Chair of Conference Carolinas Athletic Director’s Council (2016-18)
• Chair of Conference Carolinas Student Athlete Affairs sub-committee (2011-15)
• NCAA Softball Southeast Regional Advisory Council (2011-15)

Prior to arriving at King in June 2011, Hicks spent 13 years at Rhodes College as assistant athletic director, and the last six 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 three 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 26th wedding anniversary in 2023, and are active members of Central Christian Church, where he serves as a Deacon. They reside in Bristol and have four boys: Alex, a 2021 King graduate, Daniel, a senior baseball player at Rhodes College, Stephen, a freshman at Carson-Newman University, and Luke, a sophomore at Tennessee High School.