Jason Thomas - Football Coach - Oregon State University Athletics

Jason Thomas

Title:
Assistant A.D. Student-Athlete Development & Football Leadership Initiatives
Email:
Jason.Thomas@oregonstate.edu
Phone:
737-2614

Jason Thomas has over 14 years of athletic experience, which includes four as a student-athlete and 10 as an athletics professional at the Division I intercollegiate level. He was appointed Oregon State’s director of football operations and student services Dec. 22, 2014 and was promoted to assistant athletic director for student-athlete development and football leadership initiatives Dec. 2, 2015. His role includes acting as a liaison for student-athlete welfare and multiple aspects off the Everyday Champions program, including the personal, professional and leadership development of football student-athletes as well as diversity and inclusion initiatives. He also oversees the Beyond Football program which aims to provide football student-athletes with transformational experiences that will create productive leaders for life.

As a student-athlete at Utah State University from 2001-05, Thomas was afforded the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the rigorous academic and athletic demands placed on student-athletes. His involvement within Utah State’s Student-Athlete Mentor program (SAMs), a peer mentor platform, allowed for the development of personal relationships with the coaching staff, campus and community leaders, and student-athletes.

Upon graduation, Thomas was hired at Utah State as a Graduate Intern within Student-Athlete Academic Services (SAAS). As a member of the SAAS staff, he initially served as the head study hall monitor. In this position, he facilitated the study hall program by supervising and monitoring student-athletes, as well as academic tutors and mentors. Upon the completion of his graduate studies, Thomas was moved into a full-time professional position within SAAS, where he served as the academic coordinator and sports counselor for women’s basketball, men’s and women’s track and field, and men’s and women’s tennis. Within this role, Thomas was responsible for academic programming related to study hall and tutoring. He also created and implemented USU’s initial academic mentoring program. Shortly after, Thomas was promoted to assistant director of Student-Athlete Academic Services. With this promotion came additional responsibilities and new sport counselor assignments; Thomas began overseeing football and women’s basketball academic support, initial and continuing eligibility and recruiting. In addition, Thomas continued to assist in all other areas of the academic support unit. He was then promoted to an Assistant Athletics Director where he continued his duties as the assistant director of the unit and, in addition, served as a member of the athletics senior staff.

Thomas spent the 2014 season as the director of football operations at the University of Wisconsin, coordinating all aspects of team travel, managing the team’s budget and supervising support staff and student employees.

Thomas educational background includes a Master of Science degree in corporate wellness and graduated from Utah State cum laude with a bachelor’s of science in human resource management and marketing. His coursework included intensive specialization in education, training, and personal development. As a graduate teaching assistant at Utah State, Thomas effectively facilitated the professional and academic development of students, assisting them to establish and achieve of short and long-term academic/career goals. As a result, he was awarded the Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year for the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department and the College of Education and Human Services.

He and his wife Dayna Barrett, a former Utah State track and field athlete, have three children – sons, Ezekiel and Asher, and daughter, Chara.

THOMAS PROFILE

Assignment: Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Development & Football Leadership Initiatives

Year at OSU: 3rd

Hometown: Moreno Valley, California

Education: B.S. in human resource management and marketing from Utah State (2005); M.S., in corporate wellness from Utah State (2008)

Family: Wife, Dayna; Children, Ezekiel, Asher and Chara.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Development & Football Leadership Initiatives, Oregon State 2015-present

Director of Football Operations/Student Services - Oregon State, 2014-15

Director of Football Operations – Wisconsin, 2014

Assistant Athletics Director/Student-Athlete Academic Services – Utah State, 2013-14

Assistant Director/Student-Athlete Academic Services – Utah State, 2010-13