A native of Indianapolis, Fickert began his college football career at Miami of Ohio where he played for head coaches Bo Schembechler and Bill Mallory.
Fickert’s coaching career began at Seeger High School in West Lebanon, Indiana in 1973, finishing with a record of 1 win and 9 losses.
A one-year stint at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan ended in 1980 after Fickert resigned in protest over budget cuts[3] He was the head coach of Brian VanGorder.
[7] In 1999, Fickert coach the Seinäjoki Crocodiles of Seinäjoki, Finland to a championship in the Finnish Maple League and followed that with a one-year stint as the head coach of the Hannover Musketeers of the German Football League.
In 2001, Fickert was the head coach of the Tupelo Fire Ants of the National Indoor Football League,[8] followed by stints as an assistant coach for the Bakersfield Blitz in 2002,[9] Grand Rapids Rampage in 2004, and the Quad City Steamwheelers in 2005.