Devon Thomas returned to Gonzaga as Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Operations in 2021, with oversight of the university's athletic marketing, creative services, and communications units. Thomas also serves as the Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Designee (ADID), the primary point of contact for the NCAA, the West Coast Conference, and institutional resources regarding inclusion initiatives.
Thomas arrived at GU following a successful tenure with Eastern Washington University as the Deputy Athletic Director. At EWU, his responsibilities included supervision of athletics development, helping to secure the largest individual gift in school history ($5 million) in 2019. His oversight also included athletics marketing, communications, and ticket operations. Thomas also served as the liaison to Learfield Sports Properties, the athletic department's multimedia rights holder.
Prior to his time in Cheney, Thomas served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Spokane Operations with Washington State University, beginning in 2014. He led WSU Athletics’ development and engagement efforts in the Spokane region of over 900 donors and $1.47 million in annual contributions.
Before WSU, Thomas spent two years as the Assistant Athletic Director for Annual Giving at the University of Louisville after spending the previous three years as the Director of Annual Giving for Gonzaga Athletics. Prior to arriving at Gonzaga, Thomas led the marketing efforts at the University of Central Florida as the Assistant Athletic Director after spending four years at the University of Idaho.
A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Thomas is a former student-athlete (football) and a 2003 graduate of the University of Louisville. He began his administrative career at his alma mater, spending time in both development and marketing, spearheading many of Louisville's former student-athlete initiatives.
Thomas and his wife, Melanie, have two sons: Joshua (Kasey) is a former basketball student-athlete and graduate of Eastern Washington University; Brandon (McKenna) is currently a football student-athlete at Eastern Washington University.
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