Richard Hicks has made significant contributions to high school athletics as a coach and administrator. A graduate of Rocky Mount’s Booker T. Washington High and North Carolina College (now North Carolina Central), Hicks was an outstanding coach before moving into administration. He coached football, baseball and basketball at Booker T. Washington and then later was the Rocky Mount Senior High basketball coach. He was at Rocky Mount from 1968 through ’75, where he coached the legendary Phil Ford and coached in the East-West all-star game. He was principal at junior high schools in Rocky Mount and in Orange County before serving as the principal at Hillside High in Durham. Hicks was president of the NCHSAA Board of Directors in 1994-95 and has earned a number of recognitions from the Association and he is a member of the North Carolina Central Hall of Fame.