Heart Commissioner Lori Thomas To Be Inducted Into the NAIA Hall of Fame, Class of 2023
On NAIA National Awards Day on September 15, 2023, Heart of America Athletic Conference Commissioner Lori Thomas was selected to the NAIA Hall of Fame, Class of 2023.
On NAIA National Awards Day on September 15, 2023, Heart of America Athletic Conference Commissioner Lori Thomas was selected to the NAIA Hall of Fame, Class of 2023.
She will be inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame during the NAIA National Convention, April 5-9 in downtown Kansas City, Mo.
The Heart of America Athletic Conference heads into its 10th season under the leadership of Lori Thomas, who started her role as the league's new commissioner in July 2014.
Thomas started with the NAIA in 1998 as a Marketing Assistant and was quickly promoted through the ranks to her final position as Senior Vice President for Membership and Character Initiatives. Her responsibilities include leading efforts for membership recruitment and retention, achieving greater efficiencies and consistency in the delivery of the Champions of Character program, and advancing student-athlete experiences within national championships.
In addition, Thomas served as a senior executive while overseeing human resources for the national office staff. She supervised the NAIA championships department, which was responsible for 23 national championship events, emerging sports, site selection, host contracts, championship merchandising and apparel, coaches associations, councils, and committees. Thomas served as the national office liaison to the NAIA-National Administrative Council through 2011 and was a liaison to three NAIA conferences.
Prior to joining the NAIA, Thomas served as an assistant volleyball coach at Missouri State (1993-1996) and the University of Tulsa (1996-1998).
Born and raised in Kansas City, Thomas began her post-secondary education at Johnson County Community College. While at JCCC, she played volleyball and basketball and was recognized as a Junior College All-American in volleyball in 1988. She then went on to receive her Bachelor of Science in Business Management – emphasis in Human Resources from Idaho State University in 1992. She played volleyball for the Bengals for two years and ended her student-athlete experience with basketball in her 5th year.
Following graduation, Thomas moved to Kieldrecht, Belgium to play professional volleyball for a year before starting her coaching career. She was also a member of the Kansas City Lightning women's professional volleyball team in 1996.
In 2003, Thomas was inducted into both the National Junior College Athletics Association Hall of Fame and Johnson County Community College Hall of Fame for the sport of volleyball. She was inducted into Idaho State University's Hall of Fame the next year for volleyball and basketball. In 2015, Thomas was selected as the Women Leaders in College Sports "Administrator of the Year".
Thomas served on the NAIA National Administrative Council Executive Committee, the Olathe Chamber Board of Directors, and the CVB Advisory Board. She also is on the Board of Directors for the United States – International University Sports Federation since 2004 and is currently Vice President. Lori has attended the World University Games on six occasions, most recently in Lake Placid, New York for the 2023 Winter World University Games as a USA staff member.
Thomas is a presenter for Proactive Coaching which works with coaches, student-athletes, parents, and business leaders to help intentionally create character-based team cultures. She has spent her personal time coaching club volleyball and basketball for both her daughters. She resides in Overland Park, Kansas with her husband, Alan, and their daughters, Ava and Sophie.