Full Name
Sharon Thompson
Company/Organization
East Mississippi Community College
Job Title
Dean of Students / Director of Athletics
Speaking At
Speaker Bio
As the most veteran member of East Mississippi Community College’s athletics staff, former All-SEC Mississippi State University player and longtime EMCC women’s basketball coach Sharon Thompson has spent more than two decades of dedicated service on the Scooba campus. Having retired this past March from her coaching duties, Thompson is currently in her first year serving in an expanded administrative role as EMCC’s Director of Athletics and Dean of Students.
Thompson, a 2021 MSU Sports Hall of Fame inductee, continues to be no stranger to doing double duty at East Mississippi. She spent the past two years serving as the college’s AD after taking on additional administrative duties in January 2020, while at the same time winding down her successful 21-year coaching career with the Lady Lions. Thompson served the past 17 seasons as women’s head coach after spending her four first years in Scooba as the program’s assistant coach.
Thompson guided the 2019-20 Lady Lions to the school’s first women’s basketball conference championship since 1983-84 with a 24-3 overall record that featured a 19-game winning streak and included an undefeated division slate. For her efforts during her first season in a combined administrative/coaching role, Thompson earned 2019-20 Coach of the Year conference honors by a vote of her coaching peers. She followed up that success by taking the 2020-21 Lady Lions to the semifinals of the Region 23 Tournament while posting a 12-5 overall record and 10-4 division mark. This past year in Thompson’s final season as head coach, the Lady Lions continued their hardwood success by advancing to the semifinals of the MACCC Tournament and earning an NJCAA Region 23 Tournament appearance.
Administratively during Thompson’s first two years overseeing East Mississippi’s eight sports, the Lions have enjoyed success throughout the school’s athletics landscape. EMCC’s five-time national champion football program achieved a No. 1 national ranking this past fall en route to posting an undefeated regular season and finishing the year ranked sixth nationally. The women’s rodeo team earned a program-best, fourth-place finish at the 2021 College National Finals Rodeo after winning the Ozark Region championship. Most recently, the EMCC men’s basketball team claimed the program’s second conference title in four years this past February.
Having succeeded former EMCC coaching veteran Dale Peay in 2005 as head women’s coach following her previous four-year stint as the program’s assistant coach, Thompson compiled a 17-year head coaching record of 215-189. Along with the conference championship in 2019-20, the two-time MACCC Coach of the Year previously guided the Lady Lions to an NJCAA Region 23 Tournament championship and NJCAA Tournament appearance in 2009. Thompson’s EMCC teams also claimed a total of four MACCC North Division regular-season titles through the years.
Under Thompson’s guidance, the Lady Lions had numerous players continue their basketball and education careers at four-year universities. From EMCC’s conference championship team, two-time all-region, all-conference forward Ja’Mia Hollings (Troy) joined 2020 EMCC graduates Tye Metcalf (Southern University), Topazia Hawkins (Clark Atlanta University) and Maddie Riley (Rust College) at the next level. Also, former EMCC point guard Kaisah Lucky was a two-year starter at Jackson State and earned 2018-19 SWAC Newcomer of the Year honors, while former post player Quantesha Patterson was named 2019-20 D2CCA Third-Team All-American at Delta State.
Another highlight of Thompson’s impressive coaching career came when her 2008-09 Lady Lions squad went 25-7 overall and made EMCC’s first NJCAA Tournament appearance since 1978. After garnering Conference and District Coach of the Year honors, Thompson capped her successful season by participating as a court coach during the 2009 USA Basketball National Team Trials in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
In addition to being selected to Mississippi State’s Sports M-Club Hall of Fame, Thompson was also previously chosen to the SEC Greats Program in 2005. An SEC All-Freshman pick as a rookie, Thompson went on to claim second-team all-league honors as a junior and capped her MSU career as a first-team all-SEC recipient in 1997-98. Having completed her MSU career as the school’s all-time leading rebounder (936) and No. 2 scorer (1,526) at the time, Thompson averaged 14.3 points and 8.7 rebounds during her 107-game career with the Bulldogs. She averaged an SEC-best 9.6 rebounds per game as a freshman and posted her career-best scoring average (16.8 ppg) during her senior year.
On the heels of her standout playing career at Mississippi State, Thompson was the No. 6 pick overall in the 1998 American Basketball League Draft. She played the 1998-99 season with the ABL’s San Jose Lasers in California and spent 1999-2000 playing professionally in Italy.
A native of Geiger, Alabama, and a former two-time all-state player at Sumter County High School, Thompson has served as an elected member on the Sumter County Board of Education. Thompson earned her bachelor’s degree in educational psychology from MSU. She completed her master’s degree in physical education from the University of West Alabama in 2003.
Thompson, a 2021 MSU Sports Hall of Fame inductee, continues to be no stranger to doing double duty at East Mississippi. She spent the past two years serving as the college’s AD after taking on additional administrative duties in January 2020, while at the same time winding down her successful 21-year coaching career with the Lady Lions. Thompson served the past 17 seasons as women’s head coach after spending her four first years in Scooba as the program’s assistant coach.
Thompson guided the 2019-20 Lady Lions to the school’s first women’s basketball conference championship since 1983-84 with a 24-3 overall record that featured a 19-game winning streak and included an undefeated division slate. For her efforts during her first season in a combined administrative/coaching role, Thompson earned 2019-20 Coach of the Year conference honors by a vote of her coaching peers. She followed up that success by taking the 2020-21 Lady Lions to the semifinals of the Region 23 Tournament while posting a 12-5 overall record and 10-4 division mark. This past year in Thompson’s final season as head coach, the Lady Lions continued their hardwood success by advancing to the semifinals of the MACCC Tournament and earning an NJCAA Region 23 Tournament appearance.
Administratively during Thompson’s first two years overseeing East Mississippi’s eight sports, the Lions have enjoyed success throughout the school’s athletics landscape. EMCC’s five-time national champion football program achieved a No. 1 national ranking this past fall en route to posting an undefeated regular season and finishing the year ranked sixth nationally. The women’s rodeo team earned a program-best, fourth-place finish at the 2021 College National Finals Rodeo after winning the Ozark Region championship. Most recently, the EMCC men’s basketball team claimed the program’s second conference title in four years this past February.
Having succeeded former EMCC coaching veteran Dale Peay in 2005 as head women’s coach following her previous four-year stint as the program’s assistant coach, Thompson compiled a 17-year head coaching record of 215-189. Along with the conference championship in 2019-20, the two-time MACCC Coach of the Year previously guided the Lady Lions to an NJCAA Region 23 Tournament championship and NJCAA Tournament appearance in 2009. Thompson’s EMCC teams also claimed a total of four MACCC North Division regular-season titles through the years.
Under Thompson’s guidance, the Lady Lions had numerous players continue their basketball and education careers at four-year universities. From EMCC’s conference championship team, two-time all-region, all-conference forward Ja’Mia Hollings (Troy) joined 2020 EMCC graduates Tye Metcalf (Southern University), Topazia Hawkins (Clark Atlanta University) and Maddie Riley (Rust College) at the next level. Also, former EMCC point guard Kaisah Lucky was a two-year starter at Jackson State and earned 2018-19 SWAC Newcomer of the Year honors, while former post player Quantesha Patterson was named 2019-20 D2CCA Third-Team All-American at Delta State.
Another highlight of Thompson’s impressive coaching career came when her 2008-09 Lady Lions squad went 25-7 overall and made EMCC’s first NJCAA Tournament appearance since 1978. After garnering Conference and District Coach of the Year honors, Thompson capped her successful season by participating as a court coach during the 2009 USA Basketball National Team Trials in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
In addition to being selected to Mississippi State’s Sports M-Club Hall of Fame, Thompson was also previously chosen to the SEC Greats Program in 2005. An SEC All-Freshman pick as a rookie, Thompson went on to claim second-team all-league honors as a junior and capped her MSU career as a first-team all-SEC recipient in 1997-98. Having completed her MSU career as the school’s all-time leading rebounder (936) and No. 2 scorer (1,526) at the time, Thompson averaged 14.3 points and 8.7 rebounds during her 107-game career with the Bulldogs. She averaged an SEC-best 9.6 rebounds per game as a freshman and posted her career-best scoring average (16.8 ppg) during her senior year.
On the heels of her standout playing career at Mississippi State, Thompson was the No. 6 pick overall in the 1998 American Basketball League Draft. She played the 1998-99 season with the ABL’s San Jose Lasers in California and spent 1999-2000 playing professionally in Italy.
A native of Geiger, Alabama, and a former two-time all-state player at Sumter County High School, Thompson has served as an elected member on the Sumter County Board of Education. Thompson earned her bachelor’s degree in educational psychology from MSU. She completed her master’s degree in physical education from the University of West Alabama in 2003.