Member Spotlight – Seth Thomas

Member Spotlight – Seth Thomas

Serving as the member representative for the State of Louisiana, Seth Thomas is our next member spotlight in Region IV. Seth is the Director of Recreational Sports and Wellness at Southeastern Louisiana University (Hammond, LA). In addition to his state leadership role, Seth also serves our region as the Chair of the Fitness Committee. Seth is no stranger to leadership roles however, holding state director or assistant director roles in both Virginia and Alabama. In addition to these state roles, Seth has also served on a sport club committee, and as the Chair of the Flag Football Committee.

How did Seth get to Southeastern Louisiana? It started at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi, where he was introduced and influenced by a number of staff members that have turned into lifelong mentors. Seth earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Administration (2000) before earning his Master of Science in Recreation Administration (2002) from Georgia Southern. During his time at Georgia Southern, Seth held the role of Graduate Assistant for Intramural Sports.

Fresh out of grad school, Seth’s first professional position was at the University of Louisville, a two-year stop before settling in at the University of Alabama as the Manager for Intramural Sports. During his seven years there, Seth was instrumental in the restructuring of the Intramural Sports Program and the development of the Sport Club program. From there, Seth spent the next five years as the Assistant Director for Sports at the University of Richmond, where he added sports medicine to his competitive sports responsibilities. He managed 30 sport clubs and worked with the university’s Advancement team to develop and host events for sport club alumni, and oversaw an intramural sports program that impacted 1200 unique participants annually.

All of this experience led Seth to his current role as the Director at Southeastern Louisiana, a position he has held since 2017.

Seth’s experience is steeped in competitive sports, but it’s not all he’s passionate about. “I am very passionate about student development and engaging students. I believe in giving back because if it were not for the staff members at the University of Southern Mississippi, I would not have graduated.”

As for those students Seth has the opportunity to engage, he provides this advice: “Soak it all in. Volunteer to work in all areas of Rec Sports and Wellness. Just don’t attend tournaments and/or conferences; be involved. Meet people and stay in touch.” The people are what has really drawn Seth in to Region IV, as he cited the people he’s met in Region IV as his favorite part of being a part of this region.

And for those of you that have met Seth and have gotten to know him, you’ll know he loves “my three divas – Maria, Whitney and Celine.”