Stephen Sutherland Fickert is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

coach who has coached at the

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

college A college ( Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

, indoor professional, and international levels.

Playing career

A native of Indianapolis, Fickert began his college football career at Miami of Ohio where he played for head coaches Bo Schembechler and Bill Mallory. He transferred to

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communi ...

where he lettered 3 times from 1970 and 1972 and was named first team all– ICC.

Early coaching career

Fickert’s coaching career began at Seeger High School in

West Lebanon, Indiana West Lebanon is a town in Pike Township, Warren County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 723 at the 2010 census. History West Lebanon was laid out and platted in the fall of 1830 by Ebenezer Purviance, John G. Jemison and Andrew ...

in 1973, finishing with a record of 1 win and 9 losses. He would then serve as a defensive coordinator at

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832 by several Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, it enrolls nearly 900 students. The college offers an undergraduate liberal arts c ...

for two years and for one year at Albion University where he was part of a very successful 1977 squad.

College head coach

Fickert was the head coach at

Maryville College Maryville College is a private liberal arts college in Maryville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1819 by Presbyterian minister Isaac L. Anderson for the purpose of furthering education and enlightenment into the West. The college is one of t ...

Maryville, Tennessee Maryville is a city in and the county seat of Blount County, Tennessee, and is a suburb of Knoxville. Its population was 31,907 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area and a short distance from popular tourist dest ...

from 1978 to 1979. A one-year stint at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

ended in 1980 after Fickert resigned in protest over budget cuts He was the head coach of Brian VanGorder. He would later go on to be the head coach at

Western New Mexico University Western New Mexico University is a public university in Silver City, New Mexico. It was founded in 1893. History Founded in the Territory of New Mexico on February 11, 1893 as the New Mexico Normal School, the school began to offer classes on S ...

Silver City, New Mexico Silver City is a town in Grant County, New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat and the home of Western New Mexico University. As of the 2010 census the population was 10,315. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,704. History ...

from 1981 to 1983. In 1985, Fickert made the unorthodox move of taking out $1,500 in advertising space in the

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

to recruit players

Upper Iowa University Upper Iowa University (UIU) is a private university in Fayette, Iowa. It enrolls around 6000 students and offers distance education programs that include 15 centers in the U.S., an online program, an independent study program, and centers in ...

Fayette, Iowa Fayette is a city in Fayette County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 1,256. It was named after the Marquis de la Fayette, French hero of the American Revolutionary War. Fayette is the home of Upper Iowa Uni ...

where he was the coach for one year in 1985.

High school, indoor, and international coaching

Fickert served as the head coach at

Elmhurst High School Elmhurst High School was a public high school with a comprehensive intake and over 1,000 students. Elmhurst High School was a part of the Fort Wayne Community Schools school district, serving those living in the Waynedale area of Fort Wayne. It ...

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

from 1987 to 1989, finishing 7–20, and William Blount High School in

from 1995 to 1998, finishing 13–28. In 1999, Fickert coach the

Seinäjoki Crocodiles Seinäjoki Crocodiles are an American football team from Seinäjoki, Finland. The team plays in the Finnish Maple League and it has also played in the European Football League. The Crocodiles are one of the top teams in Finland and Europe. Acc ...

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; la, Wegelia, formerly sv, Östermyra) is a city located in South Ostrobothnia, Finland; east of Vaasa, north of Tampere, west of Jyväskylä and southwest of Oulu. Seinäjoki originated around the Östermyra b ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

to a championship in the Finnish Maple League and followed that with a one-year stint as the head coach of the Hannover Musketeers of the

German Football League The German Football League (GFL) is an American football league in Germany and was formed in 1979. Playing rules are based on those of the American NCAA. In 1999, the league switched its name from ''American-Football-Bundesliga'' to ''German Foot ...

. In 2001, Fickert was the head coach of the Tupelo Fire Ants of the

National Indoor Football League The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) was a professional indoor football league in the United States. For their first six years, the league had teams in markets not covered by either the Arena Football League or its developmental league, ...

, followed by stints as an assistant coach for the

Bakersfield Blitz The Bakersfield Blitz were a professional arena football team based in Bakersfield, California. They were a 2002 expansion member of the AF2 and played their home games at Rabobank Arena. In 2001, the original Blitz was owned by Casey Wasserm ...

in 2002,

Grand Rapids Rampage The Grand Rapids Rampage was an arena football team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The team began play in 1998 in the Arena Football League as an expansion team. They were last coached by Steve Thonn. Their home arena was the Van Andel Arena. ...

in 2004, and the

Quad City Steamwheelers The Quad City Steamwheelers were a professional arena football team. They were a charter member of the AF2 and played their home games at iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois. The team was founded on September 1, 1999 when the Quad Cities ...

in 2005. Fickert spent time as the offensive coordinator at

McPherson College McPherson College is a private college associated with the Church of the Brethren and located in McPherson, Kansas. It was chartered in 1887 and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. History During their 1887 Annual Meeting, the Ch ...

McPherson, Kansas McPherson () is a city in and the county seat of McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 14,082. The city is named after Union General James Birdseye McPherson, a Civil War general. It ...

before coaching Parker Lutheran High School in

Parker, Colorado Parker is a home rule municipality in Douglas County, Colorado, United States. As a self-declared "town" under the home rule statutes, Parker is the second most populous town in the county; Castle Rock is the most populous (the community of Hi ...

to a 9–9 record from 2008 to 2009. Fickert was the general manager of the

Huntington Hammer The Huntington Hammer were a professional indoor football team that began play as a charter member of the Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL) for its inaugural 2011 season. The Hammer were based in Huntington, West Virginia, with home games p ...

in Huntington, West Virginia for the 2011 season. After that, he served as the head coach of the Briganti Napoli in the second division of the

Italian Football League Italian Football League (IFL) is the top level American football league in Italy established in 1980. History In the 1970's teams formed and played in Italy. In 1980 the first official American football league in Italy was established and crow ...

in 2013, and offensive coordinator of the Allgau Comets of the

from 2014 to 2015.

Head coaching record

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fickert, Stephen Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Albion Britons football coaches Butler Bulldogs football players Maryville Scots football coaches McPherson Bulldogs football coaches Miami RedHawks football players Upper Iowa Peacocks football coaches Wabash Little Giants football coaches Wayne State Warriors football coaches Western Michigan Broncos football coaches Western New Mexico Mustangs football coaches High school football coaches in Colorado High school football coaches in Indiana Italian Football League coaches German Football League coaches