Chris Thompson serves as Senior Associate Athletic Director for student athlete services and senior women's administrator for the Sam Houston athletic department.
She is an SHSU tennis letter-winner, a Sam Houston graduate and a member of the athletic department staff as a coach or an administrator since 1981.
Since 1997, Thompson has worked in the athletic administration at Sam Houston, helping guide the department to unprecedented success on and off the field.
Her areas of responsibility include student-athlete welfare; sports oversight, eligibility certification; student-athlete affairs course instruction; liaison with the SHSU student-athlete advisory committee; FAR/Athletic Advisory Council; SH Letter-Winner Associations, Title IX coordinator.
Thompson is student-athlete affairs coordinator, directing a comprehensive program that assists freshman student-athletes in their transition year and provides a solid foundation for their years at SHSU.
She has worked at the national level as well, serving on the NCAA Division I Council and NCAA Student-Athlete Experience Committee, while also mentoring student-athletes who have served on NCAA national advisory committees.
In November of 2015, Thompson was selected to receive the 2016 Regents’ Staff Member Award by the Board of Regents of The Texas State University System. The regents annually select an exceptional staff member from one of the eight component institutions in the system to receive the award. The award recognizes staff who excel in six areas — commitment to the university and its mission; job competency; collegiality; duration of service; community involvement; and exceptional achievement.
A native of Springtown, she received both her bachelor's and master's degrees from Sam Houston. Thompson came to Huntsville as a transfer from Weatherford Junior College, playing tennis for the Bearkats in 1979 and '80. As a senior, she was the team's "Most Valuable Player" and a finalist for Texas AIAW "Athlete-of-the-Year."
In 1981-82, she became the first full-time tennis coach at Sam Houston, directing both the men's and women's programs. She was one of only five women to coach an NCAA men's team. In her 16 years of coaching, she produced nine individual conference champions, three Academic All-Americans, two freshmen of the year and was twice named Conference "Coach of the Year." She led her women’s squad in 1983 to the Lone Star Conference championship.
In 1997, she moved into athletic administration as associate athletic director for student-athlete services.
Thompson has been honored as a Distinguished Physical Education Alumnus and received the Sam Houston Alumni Service Award and the Sammy Award as Outstanding Adviser. In 2010, Thompson was inducted into the Sam Houston Women's Letterwinners Association Hall of Honor.
Her husband Robert Thompson was an All-American and national medalist for the Bearkats NAIA national championship golf teams. The pair have a son, Kyle.
