CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland State will announce Wednesday that Mike Thomas has been hired as the school’s new director of athletics, according to multiple reports.
Thomas would replace John Parry, who retired last month.
Thomas served as athletic director at the University of Illinois from 2011 to 2015, where he oversaw teams that won a national championship, claimed four Big Ten titles in one year, earned numerous top 10 rankings, and made multiple bowl and NCAA tournament appearances.
He also raised $165 million in donations over four years, doubling the previous five-year average and achieving the highest annual total in school history. While at Illinois the overall student athlete GPA rose from 3.05 to 3.25.
In addition, Thomas launched and completed a $170 million arena renovation of the State Farm Center and negotiated multi-year rights deals with Nike and Learfield Sports.
Thomas time at Illlinois ended when he was fired amid scandals surrounding the football program and former coach Tim Beckman. An investigation found extensive mistreatment of players by Beckman. The school’s report showed no misconduct by Thomas.
Prior to Illinois, Thomas was AD at Cincinnati, where he transitioned the program into the Big East Conference and Bowl Championship Series competition.
Thomas was AD at Akron from 2000 to 2005. While there the Zips won their first MAC Championship in football and rose to second place in academic and athletic performance in the annual MAC standings for the Director’s Cup.
Over his career, Thomas has also served as a member of the Big Ten Legislative Review Committee, the United States Tennis Association Athletic Director Advisory Committee and the NCAA Division I Championship/Sports Management Cabinet.
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