The award will be presented during the association's Membership and Awards breakfast
meeting on June 12 at the 2017 association's convention in Orlando, Florida. A longtime association member, Hickman was heavily involved in college athletics
throughout his career. He is a former member on the NCAA Division I Championships/Sports
Management Cabinet, the NCAA Division I Management Council, the NCAA Legislative Review
and Interpretations Committee, and the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee.
ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - Tom Hickman, retired director of athletics at Winthrop University, has been selected as the recipient
of the 2017 Gary Cunningham Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor presented
by the Division I National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.
"What a great honor it is to be receiving this award," said Hickman, who served for 20 years as Winthrop's director of athletics from 1996 to 2016. "The
fact that it is being given by my peers and colleagues makes it very, very special.
It is indeed humbling to join the group of past honorees."
The award will be presented during the association's Membership and Awards breakfast meeting on June 12 at the 2017 association's convention in Orlando, Florida.
"We are excited to bestow our association's most prestigious honor to Tom," said Ken Kavanagh, chair of the Gary Cunningham Lifetime Achievement Award Committee and director of
athletics at Florida Gulf Coast University. "As with our previous 12 honorees, he
is an individual who personifies what the award represents and fits in extremely well
with the tremendous previous recipients. A valued contributor to our association's
growth prior to his retirement, he served our profession with distinction for decades,
most especially the countless student-athletes and staffers that he worked alongside
daily."
The Enfield, North Carolina, native is a graduate of Wake Forest University, where
he received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1970 with a major in health, physical
education and recreation. He also received his master's degree in exercise physiology
from Wake Forest in 1974. While pursuing his master's, he served as a graduate assistant
coach for the men's basketball program from 1970-72.
A longtime association member, Hickman was heavily involved in college athletics throughout
his career. He is a former member on the NCAA Division I Championships/Sports Management
Cabinet, the NCAA Division I Management Council, the NCAA Legislative Review and Interpretations
Committee, and the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee.
Hickman also was very involved in the Big South Conference, serving on multiple committees throughout his tenure at Winthrop, resulting in his
selection for induction into the Big South Conference Hall of Fame this year. He was
enshrined in Winthrop's Hall of Fame in January.
For more information, contact Brett Redden, assistant sports information director, at 803/323-2129, ext. 6246, or e-mail him
at reddenb@winthrop.edu.
