On Tuesday, Detroit Mercy officially elevated Dwayne Hicks to head coach of the women’s lacrosse program. Hicks served as the team’s interim head coach in 2020, a season shortened due to COVID-19. He is the fifth head coach in the program’s 12-year history.

Hicks spent the past three seasons as an assistant on the men’s team, overseeing faceoffs.

“Detroit Mercy is a great place to grow the women’s game,” Hicks said in an official release. ”We offer student-athletes the opportunity to earn a degree in many of the most sought after majors in today’s workforce. Playing lacrosse is great, but as a coach, not only do I want my players to be competitive on the field, I want them to be prepared to compete when lacrosse is over.”

With a background of more than 45 years in the sport, Hicks brings considerable experience to the table. He has been selected National Coach of the Year twice, once as head coach of the men’s team at Michigan State and the other as the assistant coach of the Oakland women’s team.

Detroit Mercy earned a share of the Southern Conference regular-season crown in back-to-back seasons in 2018 and 2019, reaching the ASUN championship game in four-straight years (2013-16). This year, the Titans were 1-7 before the season’s cancellation. They move into a new women’s lacrosse conference in 2021, joining the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
 
“As far as what to expect from Detroit Mercy in the future, all I will say is that we will play fast and hard,” Hicks said. “I love the women’s game because it is very skillful and based on strategy. It is very different from the men’s game, which is based on matchups. I’m looking forward to working with our players and coaches to find that strategy that will make us competitive among the teams we play.”