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| Birmingham-Southern athletics photo |
Birmingham-Southern has hired Mike Ricks as its head women's basketball coach, athletic director Joe Dean, Jr., announced.
Ricks comes to BSC after four seasons at St. Thomas (Texas), where he started the women's basketball program after being hired in January 2011. This past season, his Celt team went 16-15.
He replaces Rena Faust-Holden, who coached for two seasons and compiled a 21-31 record.
"I am very excited that Mike Ricks will be leading our women's basketball program," Dean said. "Mike was a state championship coach at the high school level and has done a remarkable job starting and building the women's program at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. He is passionate about coaching and promises to work hard to build our program into one of championship quality."
Before taking the helm of the new women's program, Ricks served as assistant coach with the men's team at St. Thomas for two seasons. Prior to his stint at UST, he spent several years coaching at the high school level, going to four Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools state tournaments and coaching three championship teams. Ricks was athletic director and head boys' basketball coach at Northeast Christian Academy in Kingwood, Texas, where he led his team to a 30-10 record and the 2009 TAPPS AA state title. Following that season, he was named TAPPS 10-AA Coach of the Year. He also was selected to coach the TAPPS Blue South All-Star Team in June 2009.
Prior to serving as boys' coach, Ricks was head girls' coach at NCA from 2004 to 2007, leading the Warriors to a runner-up finish in the 2007 TAPPS AAA state tournament and amassing a 81-34 record over three seasons. As Varsity Assistant Boy's Coach from 2002 to 2004, Ricks also helped coach the Warriors to the 2003 and 2004 TAPPS state titles.
"I am very excited to have the opportunity to become the head women's basketball coach at Birmingham-Southern College," Ricks said. "My family and I would like to thank BSC president General Charles Krulak and athletic director Joe Dean for their confidence in me and for giving us the chance to join the Panther family. We are going to build a program at BSC that will compete for championships, and we will do it by creating a family atmosphere where we pursue excellence on a daily basis."
Ricks received a bachelor of science in exercise science from the University of Houston in 2004 and a master's degree in educational leadership from LeTourneau in 2012. He will complete a second master's in sport management from Liberty this May.
Ricks will begin his duties on June 1.