Dennis E. Thomas (born September 5, 1953) is an American former gridiron football center, college football head coach, college sports athletic director, and collegiate athletic conference commissioner.
Thomas attended Southside High School in his hometown of Heidelberg, Mississippi, where he played football and competed in shot put.
[2] A center and three-year letterman, he received first-team All-American honors from the Pittsburgh Courier for the 1972 and 1973 seasons.
[8] He took a leave of absence spanning the 1982 and 1983 seasons to pursue his academic career, then returned as defensive coordinator in 1984.
[2] His brother Johnny Thomas also played for Alcorn State and served as the team's head coach from 1998 through 2007.