Florida A&M adds Steve Thomas to the track & field and cross country staff, joining the Rattlers from Thomas University.
Thomas spent the last two seasons at Thomas University as the men’s and women's sprints and fields events coach. Thomas produced the program’s first All-American as Darian Mills placed third in the 400-meter hurdles at the NAIA Championships.
Before joining Thomas University, Thomas coached at Mississippi State, where he coached 23 student-athletes to receive All-American honors and one to a national title.
Most recently, Thomas coached then-freshman Asia Poe (long jump) to All-American status indoors in 2019. He also guided Logan Boss (high jump) and Tiffany Flynn (triple jump) to their fourth career honors during the outdoor season.
In the 2013 indoor season, Thomas coached Erica Bougard to the NCAA Championships, where she earned the crown in the pentathlon after earning 4,399 points.
Thomas coached senior Erica Bougard during the 2014 indoor season in the long jump and pentathlon, where she earned All-American accolades. Bougard won the pentathlon title in the SEC Indoor Championships after setting a new school record of 4,458 points.
Also, during the 2014 indoor season, Thomas coached All-Americans Rochelle Farquharson and Jason Harper in the triple jump. Farquharson set a new school record in the women’s triple jump with a leap of 12.90m at the 2014 SEC Indoor Championships.
Under Thomas’ guidance, Harper earned All-American honors at the 2013 outdoor championships. Harper ranks third on MSU’s all-time indoor superlatives list in the triple jump, with a leap of 15.97m in the 2013 season. He is fifth on the men’s outdoor list (15.92m, 2013).
In his first year back at MSU, Thomas had quite a successful year as he coached an SEC Champion who was also named the SEC Freshman Field Event Athlete of the Year, placed two on the All-American lists, and placed an athlete on the second team All-SEC list. Under the direction of Thomas, Farquharson single-handedly placed Lady Bulldog jumps on the map with her performance at the 2011 SEC Outdoor Championships.
The freshman jumped a personal best 6.48m to claim the SEC Championship in the long jump. This honor would also make her a member of the 2011 All-SEC Outdoor Track and Field First Team and All-Freshman squads while also nabbing her the honor of being named the 2011 SEC Freshman Field Event Athlete of the Year.
While at Kentucky, Thomas made his mark, coaching a six-time All-American honoree in the shot put and helping the women throwers produce impressive marks in their quest for championships.
Before coaching at Kentucky, Thomas was an assistant coach at the University of Florida, where he coached nine All-Americans, six SEC champions, and a pair of NCAA East Region champions. In his career, he has tutored individuals who have won nearly 40 conference championship titles.
Thomas also served as the head coach of the men’s and women’s cross country and track and field programs at the University of South Alabama from 1992-98; he received four Sun Belt Conference Coach-of-the-Year awards.
At South Alabama, Thomas brought the women’s squad to a program-best second-place finish at the 1994 Sun Belt Indoor Championships and fourth-place finishes in four of his six years at the outdoor meet. He expanded and developed nearly every facet of the Jaguar program, producing 20 Sun Belt Conference Champions and the first NCAA qualifier in the school’s history.
Thomas’ first tenure at Mississippi State was from 1988-1992 as the head field events coach. During his time, he trained two All-Americans and six All-SEC athletes. Thomas’ athletes also earned a combined 11 individual conference titles.
Thomas is known internationally for his instruction skills, having conducted clinics in Australia, Belgium, England, Germany, Mexico, and Switzerland and a two-week clinic in China in 1994.
An All-District runner at Oklahoma Christian College, Thomas received his undergraduate there in 1981 before earning his master’s degree in education from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1983.
Thomas is a native of Saraland, Alabama. He is married to the former Kim Eades, and the couple has one daughter, Kayleigh Lauren.
