December 10th, 2024 5:00pm
From Arkansas Tech sports information:
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – A new era of Arkansas Tech football is set to begin as Director of Athletics Abby Davis announced on Tuesday that the program will be led by one of the top defensive coaches in all of NCAA Division II, Roy Thompson Jr.
A press conference introducing Thompson as the 18th head coach in Arkansas Tech football history is scheduled for Wednesday, December 11 at 1 p.m. at the Hull Student Union located near the north endzone of Simmons Bank Field at Thone Stadium.
"We are extremely excited to have Roy Thompson be the new leader of our football program at Arkansas Tech," said Davis. "The amount of interest from high-quality candidates that we received throughout the search process reiterates how primed our football program is at this moment to take the next step and become a consistent competitive presence within our conference, the region and nationally.
"Roy's proven track record of success and his immense familiarity with our conference, region and DII football as a whole made him standout and we are excited to have him and his family join our family at Tech," added Davis. "I want to thank President Dr. Russell Jones and rest of the ATU Administration for their support in our search and helping us move quickly to identify and secure our next head football coach. We look forward to Roy guiding our football program and establishing Tech as a premier football destination for coaches and recruits alike and him connecting with proud Wonder Boys football fans and alumni."
Thompson comes to Tech from Ouachita Baptist where he just completed his 12th year overall on staff. During the past eight seasons played (2020 season not played due to COVID-19) since his return to Ouachita in 2016 as the co-defensive coordinator, Thompson has built the Tigers' defensive unit into one of the top units not only in the Great American Conference (GAC), but in all of DII.
Since 2018, when Thompson took over the reins of that side of the ball as defensive coordinator, Ouachita has had three seasons in which its points allowed per game were under 20.0, ranking it in the top-10 nationally in DII. The other three seasons, the highest points allowed in a season was 20.7 points per game. Over that same stretch, Thompson's defensive unit allowed under 320.0 yards per game four times, ranking in the top-35 nationally.
"I am extremely honored to be the new head football coach at Arkansas Tech University," remarked Thompson. "I want to thank President Jones along with Director of Athletics Abby Davis and the search committee for giving me this opportunity. Tech has so much to offer for players, coaches and fans alike. It is truly a destination job in Division II football. The goal of my staff and I is to compete and win conference championships. We are excited to build a championship program here at Tech. I can't wait to get to Russellville; it's time to wake this sleeping giant!"
For the 2024 season, Thompson's defensive unit is ranked 5th in DII in scoring defense (12.0 ppg) and 21st overall in total defense (276.3 ypg). On Oct. 19, Thompson and his defense shined brightly under the lights of primetime in one of the most anticipated matchups of the season as Ouachita hosted then top-ranked and defending national champion Harding.
Heading into that game, Harding had won 25 consecutive games and had an offensive attack that was averaging 554 yards of total offense and 61 points per game. By the final horn, Thompson's defensive unit stoned Harding to the tune of just 288 yards of total offense and 13 points as the Tigers beat Harding.
Thompson's time at Ouachita also yielded a ton of championship hardware as well as NCAA postseason experience.
Out of the eight seasons played with Thompson on staff, Ouachita won the GAC championship five times and reached the NCAA playoffs each of those seasons as well, with the most recent coming this season. Of those five conference titles, three saw the Tigers go unbeaten in the regular season.
Prior to his time at Ouachita, Thompson spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons as the assistant head coach/defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach at Mendocino College in Ukiah, Calif. Thompson's defensive unit finished the 2015 season ranked No. 4 in total defense in the state of California as well as the No. 1 defense in the Pac-7 Conference and No. 15 nationally in total defense.
A 2006 graduate of Belhaven University in Jackson, Miss., Thompson began his collegiate coaching career the following fall as the defensive line coach at Highland Community College before returning to his alma mater as the defensive line/linebackers coach for the 2008-2009 seasons. Thompson's next stop brought him to Ouachita for his first stint as he was the defensive line and linebackers coach from 2009-2012.