Chris Thomas has joined the Mountain East Conference staff as the Director of Strategic Communications, Commissioner Reid Amos announced. Thomas began his role with the MEC on April 1, 2022.
Thomas will direct and oversee all communications efforts for the league’s 23 sports and 22 championship events. His communications efforts will include managing league public positioning strategies, website management, social media, and multimedia efforts on behalf of the league. He will also oversee and administer the all-conference awards processes and provide support to the administration of the conference’s sports and associated championship events.
“We are very pleased to add someone with the talents, experience, and familiarity with the Mountain East Conference that Chris possesses,” said MEC Commissioner Reid Amos. “The MEC is very proud of its marketing, communications and positioning efforts through its first nine years and I am very confident that Chris will continue a similar level of excellence.”
Thomas joins the MEC following a stint as the Director of Athletics Media Relations at Gannon University in Erie, Pa. At Gannon, Thomas supervised and led the communications efforts for the departments’ 21 collegiate athletics programs. Through the fall and winter sports seasons, Thomas promoted eight Gannon programs that competed in NCAA regional or national tournament competition – including the women’s volleyball team's run to the national semifinals back in December. Thomas was also instrumental in the promotion of 17 All-Americans during the fall and winter seasons at Gannon.
Prior to Gannon, Thomas spent the previous 11 years at Fairmont State University of the Mountain East Conference (MEC), including eight years as the university’s Sports Information Director. In his role at FSU, he served as the primary media contact for 17 NCAA Division II athletics programs and was responsible for all content on the athletics website. Thomas also produced and edited all press releases, game programs and publications for the department and supervised Fairmont State's social media accounts and content.
“I am thrilled for the opportunity to return to the Mountain East Conference and join the league staff as the Director of Strategic Communications,” said Thomas. “Working for a member institution of this conference for over a decade, I had the chance to watch its growth and success from day one. In my communications role, I look forward to promoting our great student-athletes, coaches and institutions day in and day out.
“I would like to thank Commissioner Amos for this great career opportunity. It will be a privilege to represent a league that continues to be regarded as a top NCAA Division II conference. I would also like to thank Adam Zundell for his nine years of leadership within the MEC. He has been a mentor to me throughout my career and I look forward to stepping into a role that he continually cultivated during his tenure with the league.”
From 2015 to 2021, Thomas covered and assisted in the promotion of 20 All-Americans, 33 all-region honorees and 14 Conference Players of the Year while at Fairmont State. He also successfully promoted Mackenzie Harrison as the 2017 NCAA Division II Volleyball Player of the Year and women's basketball standout Sierra Kotchman was voted College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Team Member of the Year in the spring of 2021 for her performance on the court and in the classroom.
In addition to promoting three programs that reached NCAA postseason play in 2016-17, Thomas served as the host sports information director for the opening round of the NCAA Division II football championships and the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Atlantic Regional - both hosted by Fairmont State. Thomas also promoted the Fairmont State men's basketball run to the NCAA Division II Championship Game in Sioux Falls, S.D. that winter.
In addition to his communications roles at Fairmont State and Gannon, Thomas has also served as the Director of Communications for the National Collegiate Acrobatics & Tumbling Association (NCATA) since the summer of 2017. With the NCATA, Thomas manages the association's website and leads the weekly and annual awards processes each spring. He also leads the communication efforts for the annual NCATA national championships.
Thomas graduated from Fairmont State with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in December 2011 and earned a Master of Science in Sport Management from West Virginia University in December 2013.
A member of CoSIDA, Thomas currently serves on the D2SIDA Atlantic Region men's basketball poll committee as a national and regional voter. He is also a national voter for the D2Football.com weekly top-25 poll.
While at Fairmont State, he served as the chair of the MEC Committee of Sports Information Directors from 2019 to 2021. He also served on the NCAA Regional Advisory Committees (RAC) for women's tennis and men’s tennis from 2019 to 2021.