(Columbia, S.C.) – A 30-year athletics administration veteran, Gregory Thompson, has been hired as the athletics director for Allen University. Thompson began his new post July 15.Thompson

"We are pleased to announce that Coach Gregory Thompson has joined us as director of athletics. His experience as a football coach and athletics administrator comes to us in a propitious moment in the growth of the university and athletics," said President and CEO Dr. Ernest McNealey.

Most recently, Thompson was the director of athletics and head football coach at Stillman College. Among his accomplishments at the Tuscaloosa, Ala. institution, he led the college's reclassification and certification from Division III to Division II within the NCAA. He also held coaching and administrative positions at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Ga. and Southern University and A&M College, located in Baton Rouge, La.

Thompson will manage the operation of Allen's athletic programs, currently comprised of 11 men and women's sports teams. He will also oversee a planned expansion with the addition of new sports programs and a bid to move from the NAIA to NCAA Division II.

"I look forward to helping build an athletic powerhouse, where maximizing student success is a priority," Thompson said.

An inductee into both Morris Brown College Hall of Fame and the Atlanta University Center Athletic Hall of Fame, Thompson earned his Bachelor of Science in physical education from Morris Brown College.