Wayne State College

Mike Powicki is in his 15th year (2026-27) as Athletic Director at Wayne State College.  Powicki began his duties at Wayne State College on July 23, 2012 and has been instrumental in improvements to athletic facilities and staffing during his 14 years at the institution.  

Construction began in the summer of 2023 and was completed in the spring of 2025 on a $30 million Athletic and Recreation (ARC) project that includes the addition of the Wildcat Dome (air-supported structure), major renovations to the Wellness Center and auxiliary varsity only weight room and creation of the Bebee Family Atrium.  It was the largest athletic construction project in the history of Wayne State College and the largest amount of money raised for a facility project on the WSC campus at over $5.6 million. The third and most recent phase of the ARC project to be completed was the conversion of the Gardner Indoor Athletic Complex into a practice gym with a wood court, finished in January, 2026.  The fourth and final phase of the project will commence in the spring of 2027 with the renovation of the Rice Arena lobby that will include a new concession stand and women's restroom.  

Plans are underway for a $5.5 million renovation to the Rice Arena lobby, set to begin in the spring of 2027.  This project will include the build-out of new coaches' office suites for volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball.  It will also feature renovated ticketing and concession areas, expanded restrooms and improved fan amenities.  This follows a major recent investment by Wildcat Athletics, which dedicated over $2.3 million to Memorial Stadium renovations this past summer.  Those upgrades included a new Daktronics videoboard, the replacement of the artificial turf on Cunningham Field and a new Beynon surface for the Simpson outdoor track.

Upon the conclusion of both the ARC and Rice Arena projects, nearly $52 million will have been invested into facility improvements, staffing and operational enhancements during Powicki's time at Wayne State.  Furthermore, additiional projects are already in the planning stages to continue advancing Wildcat Athletics.

Under his guidance during the 2025-26 academic year, WSC Athletics completed its first-ever comprehensive strategic planning process.  This milestone initiative seamlessly aligns the department's priorities with Wayne State College's broader institutional vision.  The resulting framework establishes clear objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) specifically designed to drive the ongoing success and holistic support of all Wildcat student-athletes and programs.  

Wayne State student-athletes continued to excel in the 2025-26 school year capturing three Northern Sun Conference Championships - football, volleyball and women's golf.  Two of those teams - volleyball and women's golf - also advanced to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.  All 15 Wildcat sports posted a cumulative grade point average above 3.10 and the athletic department combined GPA was 3.436 at the end of the 2025-26 academic year.  A record 331 student-athletes earned the Edward Jones Presidential  Scholar Athlete Award with 159 NSIC All-Academic Team selections.  Five Wildcats received College Sports Communicator Academic All-American honors.  

In 2023-24, the Wayne State volleyball team started the season sweeping Nebraska-Kearney at Volleyball Day in Nebraska in front of an all-time women's sporting event crowd of 92,003 fans at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.  WSC went on to win a second straight NSIC regular season title, hosted the Northern Sun Conference volleyball tournament in Rice Auditorium and won a second NCAA Central Region title resulting in a trip to the Elite 8 in Moon Township, Pa.  Wayne State was also one of just nine schools in NCAA Division II to earn a Make-A-Wish reveal as part of fundraising and work by the WSC Student Athlete Advisory Committee and made that wish come true at the 2024 WSC Ameritas Honors Banquet.

The 2021-22 school year saw two more projects created to benefit Wildcat athletics.  The Rice Auditorium Stage Conversion Project, totaling over $1 million, enclosed the former stage and created an open-air room to provide premium fan seating and in-game hospitality area for Wildcat volleyball and men's and women's basketball games in Rice Auditorium along with providing a multi-use area for student-athlete recruitment and team meetings.  Another project was field turf installed on the WSC Soccer/Rugby Pitch.

Powicki was instrumental in the addition of two sports to Wayne State athletics in 2019-20 with the addition of beach volleyball and the re-instatement of the women's golf program.  He also orchestrated the renovation of the former natatorium into the Indoor Athletic Complex that will benefit all Wildcat athletic programs.  Powicki also helped orchestrate the largest single scholarship gift in the history of Wayne State as the Gardner Foundation announced on October 3, 2019 a $1.8 million gift to the school.  Included in the gift was a one-time donation of $300,000 toward the Indoor Athletic Complex along with $150,000 toward athletic operations and $925,000 toward athletic scholarships to WSC. 

The Bob Cunningham Field Press Box Replacement project covering $3.9 million was done in 2018.  The project increased the amount of work space for media and staff working home events at Cunningham Field.  The new facility also provides universal space on the lower level that will give WSC athletics an opportunity to host special events and create additional revenue through corporate sponsorships and donor stewardship.

In the fall of 2018, new Daktronics video scoreboards and a sound system totaling over $200,000 were installed in Rice Auditorium to enhance the game day experience for Wildcat fans and student-athletes.

The first major athletic project that was completed under the guidance of Powicki was the Bob Cunningham Field/Memorial Stadium Renovation project.  The project began in May, 2013 and was highlighted by installation of artificial turf, ornamental fencing, press box graphics and new goal posts.  The $1.6 million project also included the widening, lengthening and re-sodding of the Wildcat Soccer Pitch, along with installing new irrigation, facility fencing, scoreboard and making the facility ADA accessible.  The Dr. LeRoy Simpson Track at Memorial Stadium was re-surfaced and painted in the summer of 2014 as the final phase of the project. 

Past boards/committees Powicki has served on include the NCAA Division II Athletic Directors Association Board and the NCAA Division II Central Regional Advisory Committee for baseball.  He was honored April 25, 2024 with the Community Service Engagement Award during the Dr. Ron Holt Civic Engagement Award dinner. Powicki currently serves locally as the President of the Wayne Area Economic Development/Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Wayne Kiwanis Board (Past-President) and currently serves as the Chair of the Wayne Community Development Authority.  

Prior to arriving at Wayne State, Powicki served as Assistant Athletic Director at Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minnesota.  He was the Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Corporate Partnerships from 2008-10 and was promoted to Assistant Director of Athletics for Development and Strategic Partnerships in 2010 where he served in that role until July 2012 when he arrived at Wayne State.