Prairie View A&M University Athletics

After a solid high school career in nearby Hempstead, Texas in which he was a three-star athlete, Robert Thomas made the short trek to Prairie View A&M and played a huge part in continuing the historic track & field legacy on the Prairie View A&M campus.

As a student at Prairie View A&M, Thomas turned his attention to track & field on a full-time basis and started out with a bang as he earned All-American honors as a freshman.  Participating in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles, long jump, javelin throw and 4x100-meter relay, Thomas excelled in both indoor and outdoor track & field seasons as he was an All-SWAC and All-American hurdler.

Thomas had a storybook track & field career as a Panther as he finished as the NAIA Outdoor National Champion in 1982, a two-time NAIA and NCAA Outdoor All-American, a three-time NAIA All-American and two-time All-SWAC Indoor Champion.

Named Prairie View A&M’s “Most Outstanding” Track & Field and male athlete in 1983, Thomas also participated in the USA Outdoor High Hurdle Championships and the United States Olympic Committee Sports Festival South Regional Team.  He moved on to the professional ranks and continued where he left off as he participated in the 1984 and 1988 United States Olympic Trial (110-meter hurdles).  Thomas was ranked as high as No. 4 in the world in the high hurdles during the 1989 season before hanging his cleats up in 1990.

Thomas holds both a bachelor’s in industrial technology and a master’s in educational administration from Prairie View A&M.