1000 x 90

App State’s Dicus Retiring at Season’s End

Longtime Appalachian State University head men’s golf coach Bill Dicus announced Tuesday that he will retire at the end of the 2016-17 season. Dicus is in his 26th year at Appalachian State and his 22nd at the helm of the men’s golf program. Dicus also coached the women’s program for 17 seasons.

Dicus has guided App State to six team tournament championships and eleven individual medalist honors, leading the Mountaineer program for nearly a quarter century in the golf-rich Southern and Sun Belt Conferences.

“Appalachian State is grateful to Bill for his dedication and commitment to the program and the university,” App State director of athletics Doug Gillin said on Tuesday. “His teams resembled what it means to be an Appalachian student-athlete both on the course and in the classroom. Congratulations both Bill and his wife Pepi on his retirement.” 

Dicus coached the Mountaineers to a pair of fourth-place finishes during their time in the highly-competitive SoCon and coached some of the best golfers in App State history. Former Apps Casey Johnson, Josh Nichols, and Bern Gregory were all two-time medalists during Dicus’ tenure. Casey Komline was a two-time All-Southern Conference performer in 2012 and 2013. He Ranks first with the lowest career stroke average at 74.0 with 69 total rounds and has three of the four lowest season averages in program history. 

In his final season in Boone, the Mountaineers continue to set records. App’s 279 at the Donald Ross Invitational at Mimosa Hills in the fall was the second-lowest round in program history. He has the Apps playing their best golf of the season heading into the 2017 Sun Belt Championships. Currently the 2016-17 team has a head-to-head record of 64-50-4, ensuring the Mountaineers 18th winning record in the last 21 seasons. The team stroke average of 293 is 14 strokes lower than his first team in 1995.

The Mountaineers are coming off a win over No. 24 South Carolina last week, in addition to wins over Ohio State and VCU at the Irish Creek Intercollegiate outside of Charlotte. Prior to that event, App was 22-3 in back-to-back tournaments with a second-place and a third-place finish. The team- 282 (-6) earlier this month at the Coca-Cola Wofford Invitational was tied for the seventh-lowest round in program history and was matched again a week later at Irish Creek.

The Mountaineers will compete in the 2017 Sun Belt Men’s Golf Championships in Sandestin, Fla. Play runs Sun.-Tues. (April 23-25) for the 54-hole event. Seeds will be announced later this week with the winner earning an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Championship field in May.   

While at Appalachian, he also coached the women’s team for 17 seasons. The Mountaineers placed second in the SoCon three times, placing behind only national-power Furman. 

Dicus also coached the SoCon’s Freshman of the Year, Kelly Clements, in 1996 and two All-SoCon performers, Merryll McElwain (1994-96) and Brittany Winterton (1997). 

A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Dicus is a class A member of the PGA of America. He received a Bachelor of Science from Campbell University. In addition to his duties at App State, Dicus served nine years as the head golf professional at Linville Ridge Country Club in Linville, N.C., one of the premier courses in North Carolina. He left Linville Ridge in 1999 to become the Director of Golf at Appalachian full time. The Dicus family is heavily involved in charity work throughout the High Country, as well. 

Dicus and his wife, Pepi, reside in Boone.