LEBANON, Tenn.--Cumberland University wrestling coach
James Hicks has been named the 2023-24 Mid-South Conference Male Coach for Significance, conference officials released on Thursday. The award is presented annually to a coach who is an outstanding teacher, an exemplary role model and a dynamic leader.
"As a servant leader I relish in being recognized through the trust and respect of my student athletes," Coach Hicks said. "However, it is an honor to be publicly recognized by a conference that has so many great leaders to choose from. I am extremely grateful to the committee and I look forward to living up to such an award."
Hicks has just completed his eighth season as head coach at Cumberland in 2023-24 leading the program to their fourth-consecutive Top 10 finish at the NAIA National Championships as well as swept both the Mid-South Conference Regular Season
and Tournament Championships. The team also went 9-1 in duals this year.
"Coach Hicks is a great coach but an even better person," Vice President of Athletics Ron Pavan said. "He has won many championships but his commitment to character-driven initiatives with his wrestlers comes before everything."
The Cumberland wrestling program has endured perennial success since Hicks' arrival on campus and especially over the last few seasons where the Phoenix have finished inside the Top 10 each of the last four years. Hicks has been recognized by the Mid-South Conference as Coach of the Year three times, most recently this past season in 2024, as well as 2023 and 2016. He has led the Phoenix to three Mid-South Conference titles, has coached one NAIA National Champion, and has produced 21 NAIA All-Americans.
This past season, Cumberland won both the Mid-South Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championship with four individual conference champions – Sammy Shires, Jack Latimer, Cole Smith, and Rocco Horvath. The Phoenix finished in eighth place at the NAIA National Championships with three Phoenix taking All-American honors. Latimer finished as the National Runner-Up and Mid-South Conference Wrestler of the Year while Smith finished in fourth place and Shires took eighth.
Cumberland took 11 out of a possible 12 student-athletes to nationals. Coach Hicks was named Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year for the second-straight year and third time in his career.
Hicks becomes the second Cumberland coach to earn the distinction joining Hall of Fame Baseball Coach Woody Hunt. Hicks will now be up for the NAIA Coach of Character Award, which will be announced on September 15 as part of the NAIA Awards Day.
