Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Stockstill announced today the hiring of Matt Hickmann as the programs new strength and conditioning coach. Hickmann takes over for Jason Spray who resigned in early January.
“I am very excited about bringing Matt to our staff because he is everything I was looking for in a strength and conditioning coach,” said Stockstill. “He brings a tremendous amount of expertise in multiple areas, along with passion and energy. He has a precision nutrition certification and will do a great job with our speed and flexibility development. Our players are excited and we believe he will be a huge addition to our staff.”
Hickmann makes his way to Murfreesboro after spending the previous two years at NC State as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for football. The high-energy coach said he is eager to make an immediate impact at Middle Tennessee.
“I am fired up to be at Middle Tennessee and working with Coach Stockstill, and helping to continue growing what he has built here,” said Hickmann. “Being a head strength coach at the FBS level is a dream come true and I can’t wait to get started.
“I want to come in and make as big an impact as I possibly can. Continuing the hard work that Coach Spray put in, developing these young men to perform at a high level, and more than anything, helping them be better men in today’s society. For me, this is a calling and not just a job. I want to make a difference in young men’s lives and guide them to perform at the highest level both on and off the field.”
Hickmann is a 2008 graduate of Cumberland (Tenn.) University with a B.S. degree in fitness and wellness, with a minor in strength and conditioning. He played defensive back, lettering three seasons and earning all-conference honors.
Following graduation he interned at Cumberland University working with football and then joined the Vanderbilt University strength and conditioning program, working specifically with the Commodore football and baseball programs.
In 2010, Hickmann was named Director of Strength and Conditioning at Cumberland, where he worked with all university sports, including the Bulldogs’ 2010 conference championship and top-25 football team (NAIA), 2010 national championship baseball squad, and two All-American wrestlers, including a 157-pound national champion.
He spent one year at Furman University, assisting with football and was the Director of Strength and Conditioning for women’s basketball, baseball, softball, men’s and women’s golf, and men’s and women’s tennis. Hickman also spent three seasons at Georgia Tech, working with football from 2012-2014, 2014 Orange bowl Champions, and assisting in every aspect of player development.
Hickmann spent one year as Director of Performance at PLAE/PLAE HARD where he directed and organized a training facility working with general population and training youth sports teams, programming long term athletic development. He also programmed and worked with professional testing labs responsible for testing the flooring products the company produced.
Hickmann also trained mixed martial arts athletes and competed at the amateur level earning a 3-0 record. A native of Fort Myers, Fla., Hickmann is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), a Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified (SCCC) through the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa), and a PN Level 1 Certified Coach through Precision Nutrition.
Hickmann, who is a certified John Maxwell leadership coach and speaker, is in the process of completing his BioForce Conditioning certification.
