Jack Thigpen Position: Color Analyst -- MBB

Jack Thigpen is set to begin his 10th season as the color analyst for Bulldog basketball games working alongside Dave Nitz.

Thigpen is one of the most successful high school basketball coaches in the north Louisiana area over the last four decades, winning more than 500 games during his 24 years on the prep sideline which included stints at Ruston High, Cedar Creek, Parkway, Bossier, Dubach and Summerfield.

While recording 23 winning seasons during those 24 years, Thigpen -- who also led RHS to the 1962 state title as an all-state player -- returned to his alma mater and led the Bearcats to the 1988 Louisiana Class 4A state championship title and a 30-3 record.

He also led Summerfield High School to a baseball state championship title in 1974 while leading the school's girls' basketball team to the state semifinals that same year.

During his high school coaching career, he received numerous honors including being named the Shreveport Times, the Monroe News-Star and the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches (LABC) state coach of the year in 1988. He was also named the Shreveport Journal Area Coach of the Year in 1981 at Parkway High School.

Thigpen's coaching experience isn't limited to high school as he served for four years on Mike Vining's staff at UL-Monroe in the early '80s where he helped lead the Warhawks (NLU Indians at the time) to the school's first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

He also served as an assistant coach for one season at Louisiana Tech in 1989-90 where he helped the Bulldogs win 20 games and earn a spot in the National Invitation Tournament where they fell to Vanderbilt.

Thigpen spent five years as the assistant dean of student life at Louisiana Tech from 1990-95.

Prior to his coaching career, Thigpen served in the United States Army working with the North America Defense Command where he obtained the rank of captain before entering coaching.

His father, Dr. Jack Thigpen, was a LA Tech alum who taught engineering at the University where he became the head of the mechanical engineering department and eventually the dean of the School of Engineering.