eighth season
72-59-3 Overall
38-38 at Texas Southern
(Tennessee State, 1970)
Bill Thomas begins his eighth season at the helm as Head
Football Coach at Texas Southern University.
Thomas is the first coach in 35 years to hold the position more than
five years. He also has served as
Director of Athletics on two occasions.
Coach Thomas� accomplishments have brought a new respect to the Tiger
Football Program as evidenced by a number four ranking in the Street and
Smith�s Black College Poll.
Upon his
arrival at TSU, Thomas inherited a Tiger program that had not had a winning
season in 20 years and developed it into one of the top football programs in
SWAC. The program has posted winning
records in four of the last five seasons, Coaching and Athletic Experience � Head Coach, Texas Southern,
'94-Present � Athletics Dir., Texas Southern,
'94-96 � Athletics Director, Tenn. State,
'80-88 � Head Coach, Tenn. State, '84-88 � Asst. Coach, Tenn. State, '79-84 Administrative
Accomplishments at TSU � Developed the TSU athletics department long range
plan � Developed and implemented the TSU NCAA Compliance
Guide � Wrote a plan to determine the impact of Division I
or II for TSU Athletics
finishing in the upper half of the
conference in each season.
In the 2000
season, Thomas guided the Tigers to a 7-0 start, the best in school
history. The Tigers were ranked
nationally in four polls throughout the season. The 8-3 record was the best for TSU in 44 years. Currently, he is the second winningest coach
in the school�s 54-year history. Thomas
also holds the distinction as the first coach in school history to defeat
Grambling State, Southern and Sam Houston State in the same season.
Thomas
scored his 50th career win when Texas Southern beat Alcorn State
10-7 on October 17, 1997 and he has averaged 6.5 wins per season during his 12
years as a head coach. His career
record stands at 72-59-3 and he attributes his success to persistence and hard
work. At TSU, he has coached numerous
All-SWAC players and several of his student-athletes have signed professional
contracts. Simultaneously, education
has been a major priority under Thomas, with 23 Tiger student-athletes
graduating in the 2001 school year.
|
Career Records and Achievements |
|
� Perfect
11-0 in his inaugural season, Tennessee State, 1984 |
|
� Coach
of the Year Award from Hella Temple, Nashville, 1984 |
|
� 100%
Wrong Club, Marion E. Jackson Award |
|
� Independent
College Coach of the Year, 1986 |
|
� Gamma
Phi Chapter, Omega Psi Phi Citizen of the Year, 1986 |
|
� William
Raines High School Hall of Fame Inductee, 1990 |
|
� Pop
Warner Little Scholars, Inc. Award 1996 |
|
� 50th
career win (vs. Alcorn State), 1997 |
|
� Five
First-Team All-SWAC selections (1996-97) |
|
� Number
9 Ranking in SBN Black College Football Poll, 1996 |
|
� Improved
player graduation rate over four years at TSU |
|
� Led
Texas Southern to best record in 25 years (7-4), 1997 |
|
� Produced
for winning season in 20 years at TSU, 1997 |
|
� Had
several players sign professional football contracts |
|
� Significantly
increased program revenue while at Texas Southern |
|
� TSU
ranked 10th in the nation in football game attendance (13,150),
1997 |
|
� Became
first TSU coach to beat Grambling and Southern in the same season since 1962 |
|
� Won
NCAA Division I-AA Turnover Margin Award with a +1.91 average, 1997 |
|
� Led
Texas Southern University to best start in school history (7-0), 2001 |
|
� Led Texas
Southern University to best record in 44 years (8-3), 2001 |
|
� Led
Texas Southern University to four nationally ranked polls, 2001 |
|
� Produced
23 graduates for football program, 2001 |
As a
player, Thomas was a linebacker under the legendary John Merritt and succeeded
him as head coach at Tennessee State. Merritt, who was also his mentor, is one of the top 20 coaches in
collegiate football history. He won 232
games and compiled a .771 winning percentage.
While Thomas was playing for Merritt from 1966 to 1970, �The Big Blue�
won 30 of its 37 games. They only lost
six times and had one tie.
His career
includes over 23 years of coaching experience and an educational background
that includes both a bachelor�s degree and a master�s degree from Tennessee
State University.
Thomas served as athletic director at Tennessee State for eight years and held the same position
at Texas Southern on two occasions.
Bill has held the dual positions of Athletics Director and Head Football
Coach at both TSUs. When he was
athletic director at Tennessee State, Thomas formulated and implemented
financial development programs for the athletics department and increased the
number of sponsored sports from seven to thirteen. Under his leadership, the men�s and women�s basketball teams
flourished. The men�s team advanced to
its first ever NCAA Division I Tournament during the 1992-93 season and the
women�s team enjoyed its best record in school history that same season.
During his
athletic director tenure at Texas Southern, Thomas came on board when the
university was in the midst of an NCAA investigation. Under his leadership, Texas Southern expanded the number of
sports programs and now offers a record 16 sports (7 men and 9 women). Additionally, Thomas developed an
operational plan for the athletics department, hired the school�s first
full-time compliance officer and initiated the certification process. He also increased the number of full-time
assistant coaches in the Texas Southern athletics program.
Thomas is
married to Gayla Boyd Thomas and they have one daughter, Tosha (19).
Copyright � 2001 TSU Tiger Fan Network and Texas Southern University. All rights reserved worldwide.
No portion of this site may be reproduced or duplicated without the express written
permission of TSU Tiger Fan Network and its third-party content partners.