Matt Hickmann
Matt Hickmann joined the Virginia football development and performance staff as an assistant coach in 2024. He comes to UVA after spending the previous six years as the head strength and conditioning coach at Middle Tennessee State. Prior to that, he workd for two years at NC State as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for football.
Hickmann is a 2008 graduate of Cumberland (Tenn.) University with a degree in fitness and wellness, with a minor in strength and conditioning. He played defensive back, lettering three seasons and earning all-conference honors.
Following graduation, he interned at Cumberland University working with football and then joined the Vanderbilt strength and conditioning program, working specifically with the Commodore football and baseball programs.
In 2010, Hickmann was named director of strength and conditioning at Cumberland, where he worked with all university sports, including the Bulldogs’ 2010 conference championship and top-25 football team (NAIA), 2010 national championship baseball squad, and two All-American wrestlers, including a 157-pound national champion.
He spent one year at Furman, assisting with football and was the director of strength and conditioning for women’s basketball, baseball, softball, men’s and women’s golf and men’s and women’s tennis. Hickmann also spent three seasons at Georgia Tech, working with football from 2012-2014, 2014 Orange bowl Champions and assisting in every aspect of player development.
Hickmann also trained mixed martial arts athletes and competed at the amateur level earning a 3-0 record. A native of Fort Myers, Fla., Hickmann is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), a Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified (SCCC) through the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa), and a PN Level 1 Certified Coach through Precision Nutrition. Reflexive Performance Reset Level 1 certified.
Hickmann, who is a certified John Maxwell leadership coach and speaker, is in the process of completing his BioForce Conditioning certification.