Dr. Dennis Thomas announced as speaker for Braves Breakfast of Champions Scholar Athlete Breakfast

Dr. Dennis Thomas announced as speaker for Braves Breakfast of Champions Scholar Athlete Breakfast

Dr. Dennis Thomas, former Alcorn State University All-SWAC, All-American scholar athlete and current commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) will be the keynote speaker for the Braves Breakfast of Champions. The second annual celebratory breakfast will take place Thursday, April 27 in the Dr. Clinton Bristow Jr. Dining Facility and is designed to honor the University’s student athlete scholars who have earned at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average through the Fall 2016 semester. This year’s exciting event recognizes a total of 147 student athlete scholars. Each student athlete scholar will receive a commemorative Wheaties Breakfast of Champions cereal box featuring a group photo of the honorees.

Thomas, a Heidelberg, Mississippi native and Alcorn alumnus, has served as commissioner of the MEAC for the last 15 years. Under his leadership, the MEAC has ensured its financial stability, strengthened institutional compliance and been instrumental in securing corporate partnerships with nationally recognized brands such as Coca-Cola, ESPN, National Football League and Nike. Thomas also played a significant role in the establishment of the MEAC/SWAC Challenge and the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl, which brings together the football champions of the MEAC and SWAC for a nationally televised postseason showdown in Atlanta, Georgia.

While at Alcorn, Thomas, who started his collegiate career at age 16, went on to become the first and only offensive lineman to be named the conference's Offensive Player of the Year. He finished his collegiate career as a three-year letterman at Alcorn, a two-time Pittsburgh Courier First Team All-American, First Team Black Mutual Sports Network All-American and the Outstanding College Athlete of America. He helped lead the Braves to a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Championship in 1970.

Thomas also coached under his former coach, Marino "The Godfather" Casem. During his coaching tenure, the Braves won SWAC Championships in 1976, 1979 and 1984.

Alcorn recently deployed the Dr. Dennis Thomas Life Skills Program to student athletes on campus to develop and prepare them for success while in college and for life after college by utilizing academic, athletic and community resources. The Program aims to enhance the quality of life and the student athlete experience by fostering the development of the whole person.