Flickinger selected as new NIACC athletic director

MASON CITY – Ryan Flickinger will become NIACC's sixth athletic director in school history and begins his duties on February 26, 2024.

Flickinger currently serves as the activities director at Osage High School and Middle School.

 "I am excited to announce the hiring of NIACC's Athletic Director, Ryan Flickinger. Ryan is a student-centered leader who understands the importance of supporting and developing student-athletes on our campus." NIACC president Dr. Steve Schulz said. "Ryan has experience at both the high school and college levels in north Iowa, and we are excited to bring his skill set to NIACC. 

Flickinger graduated with his bachelor of science degree from Waldorf College in 2006 and his Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia Southern University in 2014.

Flickinger has been the Osage activities director since August of 2022.

Before Flickinger was at Osage, he was the associate athletic director of compliance and recruiting at Waldorf University from 2018-2022, the associate director of admission and director of athletic recruiting from 2014-2018, the head baseball coach from 2011-2014, and the director of international recruiting from 2008-2010.

He also currently teaches three courses at NIACC.

Flickinger said ,"I'm very excited for the opportunity and I'm blessed to have a lot of support around me. I'm just ready to get started. My time at Osage has been a wonderful experience and eye-opening and has helped me grow as a leader. But I've wanted to be a college athletic director." 

Flickinger said he will do a lot of learning in the first few months of his new job.

 "I want to sit down with everyone in the department one-on-one," he said, "and learn the lay of the land from that perspective. As a leader, you have to understand your environment first before you can anticipate any changes that you may want to make, either for the betterment of the department or for each individual doing their job.

"As a leader, I want to make sure everyone has an opportunity to do their job well."