Lebanon Valley College elevates Chris Thompson to head football coach

Lebanon Valley College has made it official, removing the “interim” before Chris Thompson’s title as head football coach at the college.

Pat Ratke, LVC’s director of athletics, announced last week Thompson will be the Dutchmen’s 28th head football coach. He has served as the team’s interim coach since February.

“We are thrilled to elevate Coach Thompson to be the 28th Head Football Coach and welcome him into this role,” Ratke said in a prepared statement. “Coach Thompson’s proven record of success stood out as a pillar in the national search process, in addition to the culture and care that he has created for our student-athletes over the last six months in the interim role. His leadership, professionalism, and passion for LVC Football were unmatched-this past season, only five points separated us from going undefeated in Middle Atlantic Conference play, and we were the only conference school to defeat the eventual conference champion, Eastern.

“We are very excited for the future of LVC Football, and excited for Coach Thompson as he continues this journey.”

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Thompson led the Dutchmen to a 6-5 record this fall, earning the team a spot in the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series for the third time in four years. The Dutchmen went 6-3 in conference play, the release said, with all three losses coming by a combined five points.

LVC was the only team to defeat Eastern University, the conference champion, during the regular season. The Dutchmen earned a hard-fought 24-21 win over the Eagles on Sept. 20 and, the following week, the Dutchmen defeated Delaware Valley University 21-18 for the program’s first win over the Aggies since 2013. The Dutchmen had 10 All-Conference selections, and senior safety Carter Foust was named First Team All-Region.

“I’m fired up to lead LVC forward as the school’s 28th head coach,” Thompson said in the release. “Ours is a special program that one of my mentors built and I’m honored to continue to put my heart and soul into making this a Championship Program. My 21-year journey here in every professional level has paved the way for this opportunity and I couldn’t be more excited to continue to lead the historic LVC Football team.

“We have accomplished a lot since I arrived in 2021, but we are not where we want to be yet. We will say goodbye to a special group of 30+ seniors, who achieved several program milestones. However, we return a strong nucleus of outstanding student-athletes next fall, and have numerous Class of 2030 recruits who will pave the way for our future success.”

Thompson has over 20 years of experience, including over 15 years at the highest levels of professional football. His resume includes positions in the NFL, XFL, Arena Football League, National Arena League, Alliance of American Football, and Indoor Football League.

He also played football during his college career at Bloomsburg University under Coach Jim Monos, who later hired Thompson as a Dutchmen offensive assistant coach and was LVC’s all-time leader in football coaching victories, with109 wins.

During Thompson’s second stint with the Dutchmen, the release says, “the LVC offense has consistently ranked among the top in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) for the past four years. The program has eclipsed 30 or more points 14 times and has appeared in the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series three times. LVC’s 2022 and 2023 postseason appearances marked the program’s first consecutive bowl games since 2008 and 2009.”