One of Winona State University’s all-time football greats, Wayne Wicka anchored the defensive line for the Warriors from 1988-91. During his collegiate career, Wicka set the standard for defensive line excellence.
As a Warrior, Wicka was a terror with 364 tackles, 24 quarterback sacks (WSU 2nd all-time) and 35 tackles for loss. His accomplishments won him honorable mention All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) his freshman year, and he went on to garner three straight first-team All-NSIC awards as a sophomore, junior and senior. In 1990 and 1991, Wicka was tabbed an honorable mention NAIA All-America defensive lineman. To cap his senior season, Wayne Wicka was awarded the Glenn Galligan Award and named the Outstanding Student-Athlete in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
Following his senior season, Wicka was invited to the NFL Combine, where the nation's top 350 draft prospects were scouted by professional teams of the National Football League. He was signed by the New York Jets as a defensive end for the 1992 season, later received a tryout with the Cleveland Browns during the 1992 season before later joining the Houston Oilers (Tennessee Titans) in 1993.
After his stellar athletic career, Wicka returned to coach football at Winona State University in 1992. In 1993, Wicka coached as a graduate assistant at the University of Wyoming where the Cowboys became co-conference champions with Brigham Young University and Fresno State. He then coached football at Minnesota State University-Mankato, where he earned his Master's degree in Education in 1995.
Returning again to his alma mater, Winona State, Wicka coached the Warriors in 1996 and again from 1998-2000 where he helped guide WSU to NSIC titles in 1998 and 2000, and the Mineral Water Bowl championship in 2000. From 1993 to 2007, the Warrior Football program captured 10 conference championships in just a 15-year span.
All successful programs need a foundation, a keystone that helps build success. Wayne Wicka was that building block, that keystone that helped set the Winona State football team on a solid foundation, and on the path to its current road of success.
