PINE BLUFF — The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff athletic department announced Wednesday that Cedric Thomas will be the program's next head football coach.
"The gods of the gridirons have placed in our fold one who is ready for the task at hand," UAPB Athletic Director Lonza Hardy Jr. said.
Thomas had been the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Alcorn State since 2012.
Alcorn won four consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference Eastern Division titles from 2014-2017, and the Braves won SWAC overall championships in 2014 and 2015. Alcorn won the Celebration Bowl and the HBCU National Championship in 2014.
Thomas a native of Cleveland, Miss., played cornerback at Mississippi Delta Community College in 1996-1997 and played a year of basketball. He later received a football scholarship to UAPB, and he played cornerback for the Golden Lions from 1998-1999 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in health, physical education and recreation.
Thomas began his coaching career as an assistant at Alcorn State in 2001, and he coached running backs at the University of Tennessee-Martin in 2002. He was a defensive assistant at Itawamba Community College from 2005-2006, and he served as co-defensive coordinator at Mississippi Delta Community College in 2006.
[VIDEO: University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff names Cedric Thomas its new head football coach]
"Thanks for taking a chance on this first-year coach," Thomas said Wednesday. "Just know now that the last five championships were won by first-year coaches. ... So don't be alarmed."
Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.