ABILENE, Texas – Chris Thomsen announced Friday that he is resigning as Abilene Christian University's head football coach to accept a job as an assistant coach on Todd Graham's new staff at Arizona State University.
Thomsen will be the offensive backs coach for the Sun Devils, who finished 6-6 in the 2011 regular season and will play No. 7 Boise State in the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas on Dec. 22 in what will be current head coach Dennis Erickson's final game as the ASU head coach.
ACU director of athletics
Jared Mosley said that he has tabbed Wildcat offensive coordinator
Ken Collums as the program's interim head coach and that a search for a permanent replacement will begin immediately.
"I can't begin to express my appreciation to Chris for the commitment and energy he has poured into our program over the past seven seasons," Mosley said. "Chris was my first hire as an athletics director and the friendship we developed over the years means a lot to me. I certainly wish him well at Arizona State.
"Both he and (wife) LeAnn have contributed so much to the Abilene community and have had a tremendous impact on the lives of the young men and women in their programs," he said. LeAnn is head coach of Wylie High School's 2011 Class 3A state finalist girls' volleyball team.
"Chris' passion and vision for carrying out a program that is nationally competitive and that has an intentional focus on personal development are truly remarkable. We owe him a great deal of gratitude for building our program to what it is today," Mosley said.
Thomsen, 43, leaves ACU after seven highly successful seasons in which he led a revival of a football program that had never reached the NCAA Division II playoffs. After a 4-6 record in 2005 in his first season as a head coach, Thomsen led the Wildcats to six straight berths in the NCAA Division II national playoffs.
Prior to Thomsen's arrival, the Wildcats hadn't won a Lone Star Conference championship in football since 1977, but ACU won undisputed titles in both 2008 and 2010, posting perfect regular-season records in the process (10-0 in 2008 and 11-0 in 2010).
He produced 89 players who earned all-Lone Star Conference honors, 22 who earned all-region accolades and 24 all-America performers. He coached seven current professional players, including Cincinnati running back Bernard Scott, the 2008 Harlon Hill Trophy winner, which goes to the top football player in NCAA Division II. He also coached center Sam Collins, who won the 2008 Gene Upshaw Award as the top lineman and the Rimington Award as the top center in Division II.
Thomsen – who has already started his job in Tempe, Ariz. – said the opportunity to coach in the Pac-12 Conference and at Arizona State was one he couldn't pass up.
"This is a great area, and I believe it's a program that has a ton of potential," Thomsen said. "I'm excited to be part of coach Graham's staff and what's going to happen here.
"I'm fortunate to have spent the last seven years as the head coach at ACU," he continued. "They were amazing years and we had a great run. I'm grateful to Jared and the administration at ACU for giving me the opportunity to be a head coach on the collegiate level. ACU is an exceptional university and I love the people we worked with and always will. At the same time, I'm looking forward to a great opportunity to coach (NCAA) Division I football."
From a 4-6 debut in 2005, Thomsen led the Wildcats to a 47-15 record over the final six seasons and six straight trips to the NCAA Division II playoffs. His record at ACU over seven seasons was officially 51-21, although 10 wins from the 2007 season were vacated (his on-field record was 61-21 at ACU).
ACU is one of just four universities in the country to have reached the NCAA Division II football playoffs in each of the last six seasons, along with Northwest Missouri State, North Alabama and Albany State (Ga.).
The 2011 team again ranked among the nation's best, posting an 8-3 record, finishing second in the LSC and once again reaching the playoffs.
Thomsen's 2010 team not only won the LSC championship outright, but also became the first in ACU football history to post an 11-0 regular-season record. The Wildcats finished the season 11-1 after losing to Central Missouri in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.
The 2010 Wildcats won four games against top-25 teams, including three on the road, none bigger than a 41-34 win over rival West Texas A&M on Nov. 6 in Canyon. ACU rallied from 14 points down to start the fourth quarter and beat the Buffs. The Wildcats finished the season ranked seventh in the nation in total offense, ninth in passing offense, second in scoring offense, and led NCAA Division II with just eight turnovers. Thomsen was voted the LSC South Division Coach of the Year for the fourth time in six seasons.
The 2008 Wildcats also became only the second team in the program's 87-year history to finish unbeaten in the regular season (10-0, joining the 1950 team), and they also recorded at least 10 wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time. ACU finished the season 11-1 after losing in the quarterfinals to Northwest Missouri State.
However, in the second round of the playoffs, the Wildcats played the greatest offensive game in school history in a 93-68 win over LSC rival West Texas A&M. The two teams combined to break 45 NCAA Division II, LSC and ACU single-game records, and the Wildcats set school and LSC records for points and yards in a game.
ACU led NCAA Division II in yards (558.8) and points (52.3) per game, and scored at least 40 points in 11 of 13 games and scored at least 36 points in all 13 games during 2008. Thomsen was voted the LSC South Division Coach of the Year for the third straight season, and for the second time in three seasons he was voted the American Football Coaches' Association Region IV Coach of the Year.
In the 2007-08 seasons combined, the Wildcats scored a whopping 1,267 points in 25 games (50.7 per game) and racked up 13,772 total yards (550.9 per game). In those 25 games, the Wildcats scored at least 40 points in 21 games, 50 or more points in 13 games, 60 or more points in four games, 70 or more points in two games and at least 90 points once.
In 2007, Thomsen led the Wildcats to their first 10-win season since the 1977 team went 11-1-1 on its way to the NAIA Division I national championship. ACU had one of the nation's most prolific offenses, ranking first in NCAA Division II in scoring offense (49.2 points per game), second in total offense (544.8 yards per game) and sixth in passing offense (314.0 yards per game).
The Wildcats also led the nation in fewest sacks allowed (eight in 13 games, 0.62 sacks per game), and were fourth in fumbles lost (five). In fact, in the last two seasons they have committed just 29 turnovers (losing only eight fumbles) while creating 57 turnovers for a plus-28 turnover margin in their last 24 games.
In 2006, the Wildcats started 7-0 on their way to their first NCAA Division II playoff appearance.
Before becoming the Wildcats' head coach, Thomsen had been an assistant at the University of Central Arkansas the previous two seasons where he served as the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator for the Bears.
Thomsen, who played high school football in Vernon, Texas, was a second team all-America as a senior at ACU in 1993 after leading Lone Star Conference tight ends in receiving with 34 catches for 426 yards and eight touchdowns. He helped the Wildcats finish 7-3 in 1993 on his way to earning first team all-LSC honors. He was named to the school's all-decade team for the 1990s.
Prior to transferring to ACU, Thomsen played football three seasons (1988-90) and baseball one season (all-America and all-Southwest Conference with 21 home runs and a .373 batting average) at TCU before being selected in the 17th round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft by the Oakland Athletics. Thomsen went on to play for two seasons in Oakland's minor league system.
