Mike Thomas (athletic director)
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | Pueblo, Colorado |
| Alma mater |
Colorado State University BS '83 Western Illinois University MA '86 |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 2000-2005 | Akron |
| 2005-2011 | Cincinnati |
| 2011-2015 | Illinois |
Michael J. "Mike" Thomas is an American university administrator, and most recently served as the athletic director at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Prior to this position, Thomas was the athletic director at the University of Cincinnati from 2005-2011, and the athletic director at the University of Akron from 2000-2005. Previously, he served as an associate athletic director at the University of Virginia and the University of Denver, and spent a year at the University of Iowa as an administrative intern.
Twice during his career Thomas has won the Robert R. Neyland Outstanding Athletics Director Award, once in 2005 while at the University of Akron and again in April 2008 while at Cincinnati.
Thomas was born in Pueblo, CO and graduated from Pueblo South High School in 1978. He earned his bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Colorado State University in 1983, and his master's degree in Physical Education/Athletic Administration from Western Illinois University in 1986.
Thomas is married to the former Jeni Arends from Manchester, Iowa, and has four adult children.
Thomas was named Director of Athletics at the University of Illinois in August, 2011. During his first year at Illinois he replaced the football coach and both the men's and women's basketball coaches. Thomas launched the $170-million State Farm Center renovation project, including a landmark $60-million naming rights agreement that was the largest for a college-only venue in the country.
Under Thomas's leadership, the University of Illinois won Big Ten championships in all four 2015 men’s spring sports: baseball, tennis, track and field, and golf. Thomas was also responsible for leading the Illinois Big Ten athletic program to bowl and NCAA tournament appearances and Top Ten national finishes in baseball, volleyball, men’s golf, men’s track and field, men’s tennis, wrestling, and men’s gymnastics. While Thomas was the Director of Athletics at UI, he put staff and programs in place that elevated the overall student-athlete GPA average from 3.05 to 3.25 and increased annual student-athlete community service hours from 5,000 to 7,000. In 2015, Thomas received the Western Illinois University Alumni Achievement Award and in 2014, he was awarded the University of Illinois Award for Communications and Marketing Excellence.
Thomas also led several other facility projects, including enhancements to Memorial Stadium and Huff Hall, and the construction of a new outdoor golf facility. Thomas signed a 10-year, $60-million dollar contract with Learfield Sports and guided Illinois through an 18-month collaboration with Nike, resulting in all new marks and branding.
...
Wikipedia