University of Wisconsin-Superior Athletic Hall of Fame
A two-sport letterwinner at UW-Superior in football and baseball, Mark Thomas went on to produce an illustrious coaching career. He was named the head women’s basketball coach at UW-Stout in 1987, inheriting a team with just two wins in the previous two seasons. Mark converted the program into a national powerhouse, leading his teams to 10 national playoff berths. Any Thomas-coached team was responsible for nearly 90 percent of Stout’s total victories. He receives the Mertz Mortorelli Coaching Achievement Award.
His 31 seasons behind the Blue Devils' bench is the longest tenure of any sport at UW-Stout, and his overall record of 472 wins and 346 losses ranks third on the WIAC's all-time wins list. In addition to his head coaching duties, Mark assisted the football, baseball and softball programs at UW-Stout, along with serving Spring Valley High School. At his induction, Mark has accumulated 106 seasons of coaching between high school and college.
Thomas, alongside his father Robert, become the first father/son duo to be enshrined into the UW-Superior Athletic Hall of Fame. Mark is also a member of UW-Stout's Hall of Fame (2022) and the WIAC Hall of Fame (2022).
