Aztecs' athletics director from MS

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - No one’s relishing San Diego State University’s ride to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship more than its Director of Intercollegiate Athletics John David Wicker, a native of Hattiesburg. “[I] fell in love with college athletics because what it does for student athletes,” Wicker said. “So many opportunities for them to get a degree.” Wicker earned his bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University in 1992 before receiving a master’s in sport management from Georgia in 1997. But his love for sports began at Hattiesburg High School - a member of the very first soccer team in 1986. It continued to the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi. Wicker’s first exposure to college basketball was M.K. Turk’s Golden Eagles. “My dad became friends with some of the coaches,” he said, and started traveling with the team." I got that taste early of college athletics.” Wicker recruited another Hattiesburg kid to the Pacific Coast in 2019, hiring Derek Grice as executive associate athletic director. Grice, a 2003 graduate of USM, just completed the construction of San Diego State’s $310M football stadium. While most of the nation didn’t predict the No. 5 seed Aztecs to be playing for a national title on Monday, Wicker isn’t totally surprised. Wicker was named the Aztecs’ AD in 2016. (WDAM 04/04/23) San Diego State AD, Hattiesburg native John David Wicker enjoying run with Aztecs basketball (wdam.com)