Roy W. Thompson, Jr.
Director of Men's and Women's Track and Field Programs

Roy W. Thompson Jr. has enjoyed unprecedented success in 21 years as Director of Aggie Track and Field Programs. Included on Thompson's list of achievements are one Indoor and four Outdoor Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference track and field titles, and five runner-up finishes from 1994-98. From 1994-1996 the men's track and field program won three straight outdoor titles.  Thompson is the third all-time winningest coach, in terms of championships, in North Carolina A&T history, trailing only Don Corbett and Cal Irvin.

Thompson has been named coach of the year five times in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. He was also the Honorary Referee for the 24th annual East Coast Invitational Track & Field meet for his 26 years of service to youth track and field during the summer months. Thompson has coached over fifty MEAC champions, both indoor and outdoor. 

He has also coached two Olympians: Ruth Morris and Troy Douglas in the 1988-92 Games. His Aggie men's 4x100m and 4x200m relay teams were ranked in the top fifteen in the nation during the 1994-95 season.  The women's 4x100m, 4x200m, and 4x400m relay teams were ranked in the top ten nationally from 1988-89. 

Two of Thompson's Aggies, Odell Benders and Darron Frazier were ranked by Track & Field News as the top fifty athletes among United States performers in the events of high jump, long jump, and triple jump. One of his most outstanding performers, Joanell Kellman, tied the Penn Relays long jump record in 1988. 

In 2000, Thompson coached his first set of NCAA All-Americans, as the 4 x 100 relay team finished fifth in the nation at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. One of the members of that relay team, Tim Walls, was named among the world's best 25 in the 60-meter dash by the International Amateur Athletic Foundation (IAAF), the governing body of track and field. In 2003, Everette Bruce, an outstanding triple jumper, represented N.C. A&T in both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships.  Bruce became the 20th student-athlete coached by Thompson to participate in an NCAA Championship event.

Thompson is no stranger to Aggie track, having competed for the Aggies from 1964-1968, as a sprinter and long jumper. A list of his accomplishments are as
follows:

All-CIAA Long Jump, 67-68 , All-CIAA Triple Jump, 1968
NCAA Eastern Regional Champion, Long Jump and Triple Jump, 1968
North Carolina AAO Collegiate Champion, 1968.

Thompson was nicknamed "Spaceman" at A&T because of his ability to jump
with great height off the long jump board. Thompson received his Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science, and Bachelor of Arts degree in History from A&T in 1975. 

In addition to his track duties, Thompson headed the Aggie Strength and Conditioning Programs for the Athletics Department while as an assistant football coach from 1985-92. During his tenure on the gridiron, N.C. A&T won three MEAC Championships ('85, '91,'92).

A Vietnam Veteran,  Thompson has been married to Linda F. Grant for over 30 years and they have two children who have attended A&T, Marcus and Nikki.