Jen Thomas returned to her alma mater in 2001 and has served in various capacities as a member of the PLU athletic department since. Thomas currently serves as the interim Athletic Director, a position she moved into on July 1, 2020.
Thomas navigated a safe and successful return to play plan during the COVID-19 pandemic that included testing Lute student-athletes at a level that exceeded NCAA recommendations. Establishing extensive safety protocols and testing allowed the Lutes to return to competition in 17 sports in the spring of 2021. During the spring, the Lutes won one Northwest Conference team title, two NWC "Washington State" titles, and boasted 11 individual NWC Champions and two National Champions.
The Lutes additionally achieved success on the national stage with women's rowing finishing fifth in the nation, the program's best finish since 2016 while women's track & field was ninth at the outdoor championships, PLU's top finish since 1999.
Thomas championed diversity and inclusion during the 2020-2021 academic year. Under her guidance, the department established a monthly Diversity Forum, and was the February winner of the D3 Diversity Spotlight Initiative for the women's rowing team's virtual forum with author Arshay Cooper and several other rowing programs from the West Coast.
Thomas additionally saw the Lutes excel in the classroom with one student-athlete earning CoSIDA Academic All-American honors, four earning CoSIDA Academic All-District, and a record 70 Lutes earning induction to the Chi Alpha Sigma national honors society.Â
Prior to assuming the AD chair, Thomas was the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Compliance & Student-Athlete Affairs and the departments' Senior Women's Administrator.
As the Senior Associate AD, Thomas covered all aspects of compliance for the Lutes' 19 athletic teams and nearly 450 student-athletes, while also acting as direct supervisor for several sports. Thomas additionally ran the Lute Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and created in 2016 the Lutes Leadership program which engages 175 student-athletes representing all 19-sport programs with real-life educational programming and guest speakers that meet the diverse needs of a program population that ranges from first year student-athletes to senior student-athletes with three unique leadership tracts. Thomas additionally coordinated student-athlete nominations for NCAA awards, helping Lutes land 12 NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships, 10 NCAA Career in Sports Forum attendees, two NCAA Division III Woman of the Year finalists, two NCAA Elite 90 recipients, along with one NCAA Today's Top 10 and one Honda Sports Award DIII Player of the Year honoree.
Prior to her promotion in 2017, Thomas was the Associate Athletic Director for Compliance & Student-Athlete Affairs from 2013 to 2017 and the Assistant Athletic Director of Compliance & Student-Athlete Affairs from 2010 to 2013. Thomas got her start with the Lutes as an Assistant Athletic Director and an Assistant Athletic Trainer from 2001-2010 where she worked with all 19 sports. Thomas has been involved as the Senior Women's Administrator and as the SAAC rep since joining the department in 2001. Her efforts have helped SAAC participation grow by nearly 300 percent since taking over the program.
Actively involved across campus, Thomas currently serves as a PLU Student Care Team Member, as a PLU Queer Ally Network Training and Designated Partner, and a PLU Student Leadership Working Group presenter and facilitator.Â
Thomas is a member of Women's Leaders in College Sports, National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators, Student Affairs Professionals in Higher Education (NASPA), and is National Association of Athletic Trainers (NATA) Board Certified. She has been involved with NASPA as a program chair, Region V representative, and a Region V advisory board member while serving as a facilitator at the NCAA Career in Sports forum.
Thomas received a Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education at PLU, specializing in sports medicine with a minor in special education before earning a Master of Arts in Education from Pacific Lutheran.
