Dennis Thomas (American football)

Dennis E. Thomas (born September 5, 1953) is an American former gridiron football center, college football head coach, college sports athletic director, and collegiate athletic conference commissioner.

Dennis Thomas
Biographical details
Born (1953-09-05) September 5, 1953
Heidelberg, Mississippi, U.S.
Playing career
1971–1973Alcorn State
Position(s)Center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1975Northeast Louisiana (DL)
1976–1978Alcorn State (LB)
1979–1981, 1984Alcorn State (DC)
1985Alcorn State (Asst. HC/DC)
1986–1988South Carolina State
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1990–2002Hampton University
Head coaching record
Overall15–18 (.455)
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2022 (profile)

Biography

Playing career

Thomas attended Southside High School in his hometown of Heidelberg, Mississippi, where he played football and competed in shot put.[1] He then played college football at Alcorn A&M College (now Alcorn State University) during the early 1970s.[2] A center and three-year letterman, he received first-team All-American honors from the Pittsburgh Courier for the 1972 and 1973 seasons.[3][4][5] He was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) offensive player of the year for the 1973 season, becoming the first (and to date only) offensive lineman to win the award.[3]

Post-playing career

Following his playing career, Thomas was a graduate assistant for Northeast Louisiana University (now the University of Louisiana at Monroe) during 1974 and became defensive line coach there in 1975.[6] In 1976, he became linebacker coach at Alcorn State,[7] joining the staff of Marino Casem.[1] In 1979, Thomas was promoted to defensive coordinator.[8] He took a leave of absence spanning the 1982 and 1983 seasons to pursue his academic career, then returned as defensive coordinator in 1984.[9] In 1985, he was named assistant head coach, while retaining his defensive coordinator responsibilities.[10]

In January 1986, Thomas left Alcorn State to become head coach of the South Carolina State Bulldogs football team.[11] He compiled a record of 15–18 (.455) during the 1986–1988 seasons.[12][13] From 1990 to 2002, he was the athletic director at Hampton University in Virginia.[2] From 2002 to 2021, he served as commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).[2]

Honors

In 2022, Thomas was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.[2] He is also an inductee of the athletic hall of fame at Hampton University (2009), the athletic hall of fame at Alcorn State University (2010), the SWAC hall of fame (2003), and the Black College Football Hall of Fame (2020).[12]

Personal life

While at Alcon A&M, Thomas was president of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.[1] In addition to a bachelor's degree from Alcorn State, Thomas holds a master's degree from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and a doctorate from the State University of New York at Buffalo.[2] His brother Johnny Thomas also played for Alcorn State and served as the team's head coach from 1998 through 2007.[14]

Head coaching record
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding
South Carolina State Bulldogs (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) (1986–1988)
1986 South Carolina State 5–63–23rd (tie)
1987 South Carolina State 6–53–23rd
1988 South Carolina State 4–73–34th (tie)
South Carolina State: 15–18 (.455)9–7 (.563)
Total:15–18 (.455)

References
  1. "Alcorn Univ. hires New Football coach". Pittsburgh Courier. May 1, 1976. p. 9. Retrieved October 9, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  2. "Dennis Thomas". footballfoundation.org. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  3. "MEAC, Alcorn's Dr. Dennis Thomas headed to HOF". hbcugameday.com. HBCU Gameday Newswire. January 10, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  4. "1972 Courier All-America Team". Pittsburgh Courier. January 6, 1973. p. 10. Retrieved October 9, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  5. "1973 Courier All-American Team". Pittsburgh Courier. December 29, 1973. p. 9. Retrieved October 9, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  6. "Thomas Replaces Brasher at NLU". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. May 14, 1975. p. 7. Retrieved October 9, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  7. "etcetera". The Clarion-Ledger. Jackson, Mississippi. April 9, 1976. p. 5C. Retrieved October 9, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  8. "Alcorn State". The Clarion-Ledger. Jackson, Mississippi. March 28, 1979. p. 2D. Retrieved October 9, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  9. "College Football". The Clarion-Ledger. Jackson, Mississippi. August 7, 1984. p. 3C. Retrieved October 9, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  10. "Thomas moves up at Alcorn". Hattiesburg American. Hattiesburg, Mississippi. June 20, 1985. p. 6C. Retrieved October 9, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  11. "Alcorn Coach Named At S.C. State". Anderson Independent-Mail. Anderson, South Carolina. January 10, 1986. p. 4. Retrieved October 9, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  12. "Dr. Dennis E. Thomas". meacsports.com. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  13. "SC State All-time Coaching Records" (PDF). SC State Media Guide. SC State Athletics. 2011. p. 76. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  14. "Top 50 Greatest Football Players: No. 15, Johnny Thomas". alcornsports.com. 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
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