Dan Hicks Hired as New Head Coach June 12, 2002 – Fullerton, CA Dan Hicks, an assistant at Oregon State
for the past five seasons, today was appointed head wrestling coach at
Cal State Fullerton.
Hicks, 45, signed a one-year contract to replace Ardeshir Asgari, who
retired in March after 10 years running the Titans' program. Hicks' official
start date will be July 1.
"To say that I am excited about coaching at Cal State Fullerton would
be an understatement," said Hicks, who was a two-time NCAA champion
for the Beavers at 142 pounds in 1977 and 1978.
"I have recruited wrestlers from California and have been impressed
with the quality of the wrestling and the dedication of the coaches both
at the high school and junior college levels. Because of its location,
Cal State Fullerton has tremendous potential to be competitive at the
Pac-10s and the NCAA Tournament."
A native of Corvallis, Oregon, Hicks graduated from OSU with a degree
in applied physical education (1980) and later earned a master's degree
in counseling (1990) from OSU. He is a licensed professional counselor
and worked for the Beavers in that capacity from 1989 to 1997, when he
became the top assistant to Coach Joe Wells.
Hicks was selected national wrestler of the decade for his weight class
for the 1970s and later was inducted into the Oregon State Wrestling and
Sports Halls of Fame. He began his coaching career with Athletes in Action
in 1979 in Long Beach, California, and moved up through the high school
ranks in Oregon. He served one year as a graduate assistant coach at OSU
in 1988-89.
Hicks' wife, Jill, is a former gymnast and assistant women's gymnastics
coach at Oregon State. They have three children -- daughters Jenna and
Jesse and son Jordan. Dan's father, Ron, and his brother, Mike, also were
wrestlers for the Beavers.
Hicks becomes only the fourth wrestling coach at Fullerton, succeeding
Don Matson (1968-82), Dan Lewis (1983-92) and Asgari (1993-02). He inherits
a program that placed tenth in the Pac-10 last year but returns a pair
of NCAA tournament qualifiers in seniors-to-be Chris Carlino (165) and
Rowdy Lundegreen (184).
