Sitting at the podium following the sixth iteration of the Cricket Celebration Bowl — a game that he envisioned a decade before it became reality — Dr. Dennis Thomas was asked what he would like his legacy in HBCUs to be.
 
He didn’t have to think long.
 
Thomas began by circling back to his humble beginnings in Heidelberg, Miss., with a strong foundation that saw education as the pathway to a better life. After earning a scholarship to Alcorn State, Thomas became a key contributor for legendary coach Marino Casem, AKA “The Godfather.” He was so outstanding as an offensive lineman that he was named the 1973 SWAC Offensive Player of The Year over many future pros, including Jackson State great Walter “Sweetness” Payton.
 
He had the opportunity to take his talents to the NFL, but instead Thomas chose to go into coaching, eventually joining Casem’s staff at Alcorn State. By 1986, Thomas was named head coach at South Carolina State, the first of what would eventually become a five-decade involvement between him and the MEAC. After a short stint at S.C. State, Thomas transitioned to athletic administration when he was named Director of Athletics at Hampton University in 1990. He led Hampton to unprecedented success in the CIAA at the Division II level before transitioning the program to Div. I and the MEAC.
 
The Pirates won 11 MEAC championships during Thomas’ tenure. Hampton men’s basketball also upset No. 2 seed Iowa State in the 2001 NCAA Tournament under his watch, becoming the second MEAC program to win an NCAA Div. I Tournament game.
 
Having gotten the university on solid footing in Division I, Thomas next took on the challenge of guiding the MEAC. He was announced as the league’s third full-time commissioner in August 2002 and dove headfirst into taking the conference into new heights.
 
One of the first things the MEAC did under Dr. Thomas’ leadership was establish financial distribution to each of the conference’s programs, something that would last throughout his 20-year tenure. The MEAC also holds the distinction of being the first and only FCS conference to own its headquartered property, a goal of Thomas’ that was realized in 2010. 
 
Two years into the job, Thomas pitched the idea of a postseason bowl game between the MEAC and SWAC to the powers that be at ESPN. It didn’t happen overnight, but the seeds he planted eventually took root in the formation of the Celebration Bowl, with the first game taking place in Dec. 2015.
 
In the meantime, he kept pushing the conference forward, forging a partnership with ESPN that continues to this day, including the MEAC/SWAC Challenge as well as the Celebration Bowl and coverage of Olympic sports. He also implemented the MEAC Woman of the Year honor in 2006 and the Male Student-Athlete of The Year honor six years later. 
 
The implementation of the Woman of the Year award was emblematic of Thomas’ commitment to gender equity—a cause that was also forwarded in broadcast opportunities; the MEAC became the first conference to televise its volleyball championship match, which airs on ESPNU annually. The MEAC has also aired the women’s bowling championship on an ESPN platform over the past several years, and his tenure also saw an increase in broadcast opportunities for the sports of track & field, women’s basketball and softball.
 
With all those accomplishments and many more, breaking them down into one statement about the legacy of life as accomplished as Thomas’ could have turned into a long monologue. But Thomas was decisive and thorough about what his life’s work was truly all about as he spoke at the podium. 
 
“When you’re from the country, if someone tells you, you’re a good man — that’s the highest compliment that you can have,” Thomas said. “So, I want people to think of me — that ‘Dennis was a good man.’ But also that he tried his level best to help student-athletes be better people. Be productive citizens for our society and get educated and get a degree. Because sometimes, people with degrees are not educated. So, we want to educate them in a holistic way so that they can get their degrees.” 
 
When he was a star offensive lineman at Alcorn State University, no one exemplified the term “student-athlete” the way Thomas did. When he became a coach, then an administrator and later on a commissioner and a doctor, no one worked harder to make sure student-athletes in the MEAC received first-class opportunities.
 
Dedication to the conference’s membership and its student-athletes, more than bowl games and member distributions, is the legacy that Dr. Dennis Thomas, a member of the 2022 MEAC Hall of Fame class, has left at the MEAC and beyond.