Dec. 16, 2011

TEMPE, Ariz.--Chris Thomsen, who spent the past seven seasons as head coach of the Division II Abilene Christian Wildcats, has been named an assistant football coach at Arizona State University, head coach Todd Graham announced today. 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 final record at ACU over seven seasons was 51-21.

Thomsen turned the ACU program into a perennial contender under his watch, winning the Lone Star Conference South Division Coach of the Year award four times. He led the Wildcats to an undefeated regular season in 2010 and twice won 11 games. ACU, in fact, is one of just four programs in the country to have reached the NCAA Division II playoffs in each of the last six seasons, joining Northwest Missouri State, North Alabama and Albany State (Ga.) in that elite category.

Prior to Thomsen's arrival in 2005, ACU hadn't won a Lone Star Conference championship since 1977 and hadn't won an outright championship since 1973, but Thomsen led ACU to undisputed league crowns in 2008 and 2010, posting perfect regular seasons in both years. For his efforts, Thomsen has been voted the LSC South Division Coach of the Year four times in his seven seasons in the league.

Known for his high-powered offenses at ACU, Thomsen's tenure is perhaps most famous for the 2008 NCAA Division II playoff game against rival West Texas A&M, when the two teams combined to break 45 NCAA Division II records in a 93-68 Abilene Christian victory. That season, ACU led the NCAA in yards per game (558.8) and points per game (52.3) and scored at least 40 points 11 times and at least 36 points in all 13 contests.
In 2007, ACU had one of the nation's most prolific offenses, ranking first in NCAA Division II football in scoring (49.2 ppg), second intotal offense (544.8 ypg) and sixth in passing offense (314.0 ypg). The Wildcats also led the nation in fewest sacks allowed (eight in 13 games).

While at ACU, the two-time AFCA Region IV Coach of the Year coached four NFL draft choices (Danieal Manning, 42nd pick, second round by the Chicago Bears in 2006; Johnny Knox, fifth-round pick by the Bears in 2009; Bernard Scott, sixth-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in2009; Clyde Gates, fourth-round pick by the Miami Dolphins in 2011); an NFL Pro Bowl selection (Knox in 2009), a Harlon Hill Award winner (Scott in 2008), the award that is the NCAA Division II equivalent of the Heisman Trophy; and a Gene Upshaw Award winner (Sam Collins in 2008), signifying the top lineman in NCAA Division II football.

Before becoming the head coach at Abilene Christian, Thomsen served two seasons as offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator for the University of Central Arkansas. He began his coaching career in 1994 as a graduate assistant at ACU before spending two seasons as the offensive linecoach and one as the defensive line coach. He was named the Wildcats' offensive coordinator in 1998, spending two seasons in that position. After spending two seasons away from football, he got back into coaching in 2001, spending twoyears at offensive coordinator at Wichita Falls High School before joining Central Arkansas.

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. He was TCU's Male Athlete of the Year in 1991. Thomsen went on to play for two seasons in Oakland's minor league system. After retiring from baseball, he returned to the college gridiron, playing one season at ACU. He was a First Team All-Lone Star Conference tight end for the Wildcats, earning Second Team All-American honors. He earned a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from TCU in December 1993 and received his master's in secondary education from ACU in 2000.