Reginald L. Thomas serves as the Associate Vice President for Athletics & Academic Excellence at Florida A&M University, providing executive leadership in student-athlete academic success, NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) strategy, institutional accountability, and athletics operations.
As a member of the Athletics senior leadership team, Thomas works across Athletics and University leadership to advance FAMU’s commitment to academic excellence, student-athlete success, and operational excellence. His responsibilities include providing strategic oversight of academic performance and APR initiatives, strengthening systems of institutional control, supporting NCAA compliance efforts, and developing strategies designed to improve student-athlete eligibility, retention, graduation, and postseason eligibility.
Thomas leads FAMU’s strategic approach to the NCAA Academic Performance Program (APP), including the monitoring and assessment of APR performance and the development of intervention and improvement strategies for programs requiring additional academic support. He also provides executive oversight of academic support programming and works collaboratively with coaches, academic administrators, compliance personnel, and campus leadership to ensure student-athletes remain on track toward degree completion.
In addition to his academic and compliance responsibilities, Thomas provides sport and administrative oversight, contributes to departmental strategic planning and resource allocation, and assists in aligning athletics operations with the mission and priorities of Florida A&M University.
Prior to joining FAMU, Thomas served as Associate Commissioner for Administration for the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), where he advised the Commissioner and member institutions on NCAA compliance, academic performance, governance, championships, and student-athlete eligibility. He served as a conference resource for NCAA rules interpretations and helped institutions navigate issues involving eligibility, academic performance, postseason access, and institutional accountability.
Thomas previously held senior administrative positions at Bethune-Cookman University, including Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Services. As a member of the department’s executive leadership team, he oversaw NCAA compliance and academic support operations for a 17-sport Division I athletics program, including eligibility certification, academic reporting, rules education, student-athlete services, and academic performance initiatives.
A significant component of Thomas’ career has centered on improving academic outcomes and securing resources to support student-athlete achievement. He served as Principal Investigator for the successful procurement of more than $900,000 in NCAA Accelerating Academic Success Program (AASP) funding, supporting initiatives focused on academic achievement, retention, graduation, and enhanced student-athlete support services. He has also led institutional and conference-level efforts involving NCAA APR and APP data analysis, academic improvement planning, and strategies designed to mitigate NCAA academic-performance risk.
Thomas is a graduate of the NCAA Dr. Charles Whitcomb Leadership Institute and has served in numerous leadership capacities at both the institutional and conference levels. He is an active member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A), and National Association for Athletics Compliance (NAAC).
Throughout his career, Thomas has remained committed to creating an athletics environment in which academic excellence, competitive success, accountability, and student-athlete development operate as complementary priorities in advancing the mission of intercollegiate athletics.
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