NC Wesleyan College and Athletic Director Aaron Denton have named volunteer assistant Walter "Mac" Sykes as the new Wesleyan Men's Golf Coach for the upcoming 2020-21 season.

Sykes is replacing Gregg Ripke, who is stepping down after coaching the team to its greatest success in school history. He will stay on as a volunteer assistant during the transitional phase for the 2020-21 season.

Sykes, a Conway, NC native and an NCWC alum, was a volunteer assistant for the past two seasons for the Battling Bishop Golf Team and filled in for Ripke during the shortened spring season in 2020.

“We are thrilled to have Mac join our staff,” said Denton. “He is an outstanding coach and a great addition to Wesleyan. The fact that he is a Wesleyan alum and part of our winning tradition as well as his recent work with the current team and coach Ripke makes this exciting. Mac is one of the best I’ve seen at building and maintaining relationships with people and that will serve our students and college very well.”

"It is a tremendous honor as an alum to come back and represent the college and program as the head golf coach," commented Sykes. "I want to thank Gregg for his friendship and guidance over the years, as he left it in good hands. I also want to thank Aaron Denton for this opportunity as we look to continue the winning tradition that the past players and coaches set here at Wesleyan."

Sykes also enjoyed working with the four seniors of the past two years that made it to the national tournament: Grady Anderson, Mariano Silvestri, Luke Thornton and Dustin Wood, as he had a great relationship with them all.

Sykes is looking most forward to "practicing and working with the team on the range and course next season. I really enjoyed working with the student-athletes in the spring when I was filling in for Gregg and the players really appreciated and were grateful for the time spent together during the difficult semester."

Moving forward, I would like to continue to "recruit quality student-athletes on the course and in the classroom and have them graduate and represent the college well and have the same positive impact on the athletes as they had on us as coaches," commented Sykes.  "I would also like to continue the pipeline of international students that Ripke was bringing in as we look to keep the program moving in a high-quality direction," Sykes said.

Sykes was a 1980 graduate of NC Wesleyan with a B.A. in History and was a 4 year letter winner for the Bishops. While as a Bishop, Mac was the MVP of the golf team in 1977 while also winning the Benny Goodrich Memorial Award and the Senior Award in 1980. Sykes was also named a 2x Dixie Conference All-Academic Team Member during his tenure with the Bishops.

Mac’s family includes wife Tracy and two adult children including son, Cameron, and daughter, Rebecca.