CLEVELAND – The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced the Association's Hall of Fame Class of 2022. Eight people have been named and among those honored is Alcorn State's very own Dr. Dennis Thomas. Other honorees include Jeff Bain, Martin Methodist College; Jim Falls, University of Northern Colorado; Brenda Hampton, Iowa Western Community College; Bill Hogan, Seattle University; Bruce Rasmussen, Creighton University; Charlie Titus, University of Massachusetts Boston; and Kevin White Duke University. The honorees will be recognized in conjunction with the 57th Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, prior to the Featured Session on Monday, June 27 at 4 p.m.
Thomas, an Alcorn State University graduate and football great, served as commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) from 2002-21, spearheading a period of two decades that saw the conference remain financially stable, strengthen institutional compliance and improve student-athlete graduation rates. In the process, he gained the distinction as one of the leading collegiate athletics administrators in America.
In 2010, 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 without assessing MEAC institutions. A revolutionary, one year later, 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 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 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, he 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 has served as a member of the NCAA Division I Leadership Council and the NCAA Division I FCS Governance Committee, and he was a member and chair of the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions and the NLI Policy and Review Committee. He has also served as the chair of the NCAA Division I FCS Commissioners Association and he served on the NACDA Executive Committee (2005-09) 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 Hall of Fame (2010), the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Hall of Fame (2003), and the Black College Football Hall of Fame (2020). In 2022, Thomas will also be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the MEAC Hall of Fame.
For information on all of the inductees visit NACDA.com.
