Dr. Dennis E. Thomas enters his 18th year as Commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) on September 1, 2019, following a period of nearly two decades that has seen the conference remain financially stable, strengthen institutional compliance and improve student-athlete graduation rates. In the process, he has gained the distinction as one of leading collegiate athletics administrators in America.
In 2010, Commissioner Thomas realized one of his goals with the purchasing of the conference’s first office complex. The official headquarters, located in Norfolk, Va., marks the first time an FCS conference has owned its headquartered property. A revolutionary, one year later, Commissioner Thomas accomplished another first as he led the MEAC to become the first NCAA Division I FCS conference to institute instant replay during its televised regular-season football games, a feat that was accomplished in 2011.
Thomas’ mission to increase the conference’s corporate resources has led to multi-year partnerships with Russell Athletic Corporation, Coca-Cola, State Farm Insurance, Nike, Wells Fargo, ESPN, Jostens, United States Marines, Home Depot, Geico, Colgate Palmolive and the National Football League (NFL). Thomas was instrumental in forging a partnership with the NFL to improve officiating and provide access for MEAC officials to advance to the next level. In May 2016, Thomas also helped broker an off-the-field partnership between the NFL and the MEAC to boost opportunities for non-playing careers in professional football.
In 2017, the MEAC partnered with Collegiate Sports Management Group (CSMG), entering into a multi-year agreement in an effort to increase the conference’s corporate partnerships and branding. The relationship focuses on marketing and sponsorship rights, as well as helping to develop more national strategies across all avenues to help generate revenue for the conference.
In 2004, Thomas recommended to ESPN the development of the Celebration Bowl, pitting the champions of the MEAC and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) together in a bowl game. The first two editions were played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga., with the MEAC winning the inaugural contest in 2015 when North Carolina A&T State defeated Alcorn State 41-34. Beginning in 2017, the Celebration Bowl shifted venues, as the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened in downtown Atlanta.
A commissioner committed to equal opportunities, Thomas has bolstered the conference’s television footprint when it comes to the Olympic sports. In February 2017, the conference broadcast the MEAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, for the first time ever, on ESPN3. ESPN3 also broadcast the league’s Bowling Championship and Outdoor Track and Field Championship for the first time in 2018. In addition, the conference’s Volleyball Championship final has been broadcast on ESPNU every year since 2014; that initial broadcast marked the first time in the conference’s history that the volleyball championship had been televised.
During his tenure, Thomas has been a proponent of MEAC student-athletes being strong on the field as well as in the classroom. His vision to reward academic excellence was implemented with the start of the Highest Graduation Award for member institutions with the best graduation rate for the academic year. The institution that achieves that honor is awarded $25,000.
In 2006, Thomas implemented the MEAC Woman of the Year honor. The award celebrates the achievements of female senior student-athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. In 2012, the MEAC introduced and recognized the MEAC Man of the Year award in conjunction with the women’s top honor.
The 2018-19 academic year saw Thomas inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame, and he was also named to the Board of Directors for the National Football Foundation (NFF).
Thomas has brought a wealth of collegiate administrative and higher education experience to the MEAC. Prior to becoming Commissioner, he served as Director of Athletics at Hampton University in Hampton, Va. In his 12 years of service, Hampton excelled on and off the field of competition. In addition to guiding Hampton from the NCAA Division II level to Division I, Thomas demonstrated a strong commitment to student-athletes during his tenure by developing the Athletic Academic Support unit to increase graduation rates.
Under Thomas’ leadership, Hampton won 17 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Division II championships between 1990 and 1995 and 11 MEAC championships between 1996 and 2002. Hampton was awarded the MEAC’s top honors with the 1999 Talmadge L. Hill All-Sports Award and the 2002 Mary McLeod Bethune Women’s All-Sports Award, symbolizing the overall strength of the athletics program.
Thomas’ term at Hampton also marked the Pirates men’s basketball team’s remarkable win over Iowa State University, 58-57, in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament. The historic win was accentuated when the Pirates returned to the NCAA Tournament the following year. No other No. 15 seed winner had returned to the tournament in consecutive years after accomplishing the feat.
Thomas served as the head football coach at South Carolina State University from 1986 to 1988.
Thomas’ leadership and managerial skills among national organizations has not gone unnoticed. He was awarded the National Association of Collegiate Director of Athletics (NACDA) Athletic Director of the Year Award for the Southeast Region (I-AA/AAA) in 2002. In 2001, he served as Chair of the NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS) Football Committee. He also served on the NCAA Division I Football Issues Committee and is a former member of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Board of Directors.
Thomas has served as a member of the NCAA Division I Leadership Council and the NCAA I-FCS Governance Committee, He was a member and chair of the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions and the NLI Policy and Review Committee. Thomas has also served as the chair of the NCAA Division I-AA (FCS) Commissioners Association and he served on the NACDA Executive Committee and the Walter Byers Scholarship Committee.
Thomas was inducted into Hampton University’s inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame Class in 2009. He has also been enshrined into the Alcorn State University (Miss.) Hall of Fame (2010), the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame (2003) and the Black College Football Hall of Fame (2020).
A native of Heidelberg, Miss., Thomas was a four-year letterman in football and track and field in high school, and at the age of 16, he embarked upon a collegiate career that is still in the SWAC’s record books. In 1973, he made history as the first and only offensive lineman to be named the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year. He finished his collegiate career as a three-year letterman at Alcorn State, a two-time Pittsburgh Courier First Team All-American (1972-73), First Team Black Mutual Sports Network All-American (1973) and the Outstanding College Athlete of America (1974).
While at Alcorn State, Thomas coached and played under the legendary coach Marino “The Godfather” Casem. During his playing and coaching tenure at Alcorn State, the Braves won SWAC football championships in 1970 as a player and 1976, 1979 and 1984 as an assistant coach.
In 1978, the state legislature in Mississippi proclaimed April 8 as the “Dennis and Johnny Day” in the state, recognizing Thomas and his brother for their achievements in scholarship, athletics and leadership.
Thomas earned his bachelor’s degree from Alcorn State University. He later earned his master’s from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and his doctorate degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Thomas is a proud lifetime member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Gamma Pi Alumni Association – 2nd Quarter 2020