LSU Gold

Austin Thomas

LSU
Austin Thomas
Title
Sr. Associate AD / Football Administration
Hometown
Franklin, Tenn.
Alma Mater
Lipscomb (2008)

Austin Thomas returned to LSU in January of 2024 and serves as a senior associate athletic director for football administration. It’s Thomas third stint at LSU as he previously served as general manager for the Tigers in 2021 and was a staff member from 2013-17. He was elevated to general manager at LSU for the first time in 2016, becoming the first person in college football to hold that title.

Thomas arrived in Baton Rouge after two years at Ole Miss where he served as football chief of staff and sport administrator for the Rebel football program in 2022 and 2023. Ole Miss had perhaps the best season in school history in 2023, winning a program record 11 games, beating Penn State in the Peach Bowl and finishing the year ranked No. 9 in the nation.

Thomas spent the 2020 season as senior associate athletic director for football at Baylor, where he was tasked with overseeing all football related activities for the Bears.

Thomas served as the associate athletic director for football personnel at Texas A&M for two years during the 2018-19 seasons. Thomas helped guide the Aggies to its highest back-to-back recruiting classes in program history in 2019-20.

In his first two seasons at LSU, Thomas helped the Tigers claim back-to-back top five signing classes in 2014 and 2015, and in 2016-2017 during his time as the general manager, Thomas played a key role in the construction of the roster that won the 2019 National Championship. He was named the Personnel Director of the Year in 2015 and a finalist for the award in 2014.

During his first stop at LSU, the Tigers won 44 games in the five-year span and finished ranked in the Top 25 four times.

Considered one of the top off the field professionals in all of college football, Thomas spent multiple seasons on Kiffin’s staff in off-the-field roles at both USC and Tennessee. Thomas served as a defensive quality control coach for Kiffin in Knoxville in 2009, followed by a two year stay at USC as the Trojans’ assistant director of player personnel from 2011-2013.

Thomas is married to the former Brittney Piper. The couple has three sons – Paul Austin III, Paxton Ace, and Pace.