Bob Thomas only officially retired in 1997 from UW-Stout after a career as the head wrestling coach, an assistant football and baseball coach and as the equipement manager. Thomas officially stepped down from the football program after the 2013 season. Since then, Thomas has been a regular on the football field, as well as within the entire athletic department, and returns in 2011 to work with the kickers. Thomas has been working with kickers and punters on a volunteer basis over the past several years. An inductee into three different athletic halls of fame (UW-Superior, 2004 as an athlete; UW-Stout, 2005, as a coach; and the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) as a coach), Thomas has deeply impacted several Blue Devil athletic programs, developing numerous All-American student-athletes along the way. His Stout wrestling teams compiled the most dual wins in school history and produced three All-American athletes, including the only national wrestling champion in school history. Thomas served as Stout’s equipment manager and was an assistant baseball coach. Thomas was the acting baseball coach during the 1997 season when the team posted a 25-8 record, tied for the Northern Division title, and advanced to the WIAC Tournament. The eight losses have been the program’s fewest since 1990. Thomas retired in 1997, but has since stayed active as a volunteer coach in both baseball and football at Stout. He has also been an assistant football coach and softball coach at Spring Valley. He has yearly worked the NCAA Division I College World Series in Kansas City, has been an official scorekeeper at Stout basketball games and is a WIAC basketball officials evaluator. Thomas currently resides in Menomonie with his wife, Helen.