Hicks has close to 45 years of lacrosse in his background as a player and coach and has been one of the most instrumental individuals in helping spread the game in the state of Michigan. He has spent the last 13 years as the Director of Lacrosse for Total Sports Complex. He is also the head coach and director of the Total Lacrosse Train and Play program and Team Total Lacrosse travel team.

“Dwayne is one of the most respected coaches in the Midwest,” said head coach Chris Kolon '09 (MBA). “He was my first lacrosse coach and he brings not only great knowledge of the game, but an outstanding pedigree and reputation to our program.”

“I would like to thank coach Kolon and Detroit Mercy for this incredible opportunity,” said Hicks. “I am very excited to be back at this level and look forward to working with the talented young men in this program.”

Hicks has coached at both the high school and college level with teams at Freeport High School (NY), St. Joseph’s High School (IN) and Seaholm (MI) as well as his alma mater Notre Dame, Oakland (men’s and women’s teams), Eastern Michigan and Michigan State University.

During his five years with the Oakland men’s team, Hicks was able to develop an unknown program into a nationally ranked, highly touted lacrosse team, which included two national championship appearances and one Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association (CCLA) title. In 2006, Hicks moved from Oakland to Eastern Michigan to help build their program. After three seasons with the Eagles and helping them become a CCLA playoff contender, he moved to Michigan State, where he guided the Spartans to four CCLA playoff appearances, one championship and two runner-up efforts.

In 2012, Hicks took on the challenge of coaching women's lacrosse as an assistant at Oakland. In his four years with the Grizzlies, the team qualified for four national championships, placing as high as third and winning three regional championships. Oakland also had 12 All-Americans, two offensive and one defensive player of the year, and in 2016, he helped coach the National Player of the Year, Lindsay Barrett.