Education
Wicklum was raised in Perth, Ontario, in the Ottawa Valley, and attended Saint John Catholic School and Perth and District Collegiate Institute.
Wicklum was raised in Perth, Ontario, in the Ottawa Valley, and attended Saint John Catholic School and Perth and District Collegiate Institute.
He played football with the Ottawa Sooners of the Canadian Junior Football League. After high school graduation, he entered the University of Guelph and received a Bachelor of Surgery in biology in 1990. He played football with the Guelph Gryphons winning the Vanier Cup in 1984 and named an OUAA All-Star in 1987, setting the Guelph record with 119 total tackles in the season.
In 2002, Wicklum was named to the Guelph"s Athletics hall of fame.
The Canadian Football League"s Winnipeg Blue Bombers drafted him in the first round of the 1988 Canadian College Draft. In 1989, the Calgary Stampeders selected him as the first Canadian player in an equalization draft.
There was some controversy in 1991 when a late hit by Wicklum on Toronto"s marquee player Rocket Ismail caused Ismail to be hospitalised for a concussion. Ismail had already been tackled while returning a punt when Wicklum drove his helmet into Ismail"s shoulder and neck.
Wicklum was assessed a spearing penalty but was not ejected.
After retiring from football, Wicklum went on with his education in the field of aquatic ecology, completing an Master of Surgery in 1994 at the University of Calgary, and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1998 at the University of Montana, where he also did postdoctoral work, served as Research Assistant Professor, and authored nine scholarly papers. In 2000, Wicklum became a senior policy advisor for Ralph Goodale, then Government House Leader and was later named Executive Director of the Canadian Forest Innovation Council.
