ANNVILLE, Pa.—Pat Ratke, LVC Director of Athletics, announced that Chris Thompson, the team's Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach since 2021, will be the Flying Dutchmen Football program's Interim Head Coach. The College will conduct a national search for the program's next Head Football Coach. J.R. Drake, the coach for the 2023 and 2024 seasons, resigned.
 
"Chris has extensive experience at all levels of football, from quarterbacking his college team to the national championship game to coaching in the NFL and XFL," said Ratke. "His other role as the Dutchmen Football Academic Coordinator makes him the natural choice to lead the program that has had so much academic and athletic success."
 
Thompson's football connections to LVC include playing at Bloomsburg University for Jim Monos, the program's all-time leader in coaching victories (109 wins), during his collegiate career. Monos later hired him as a Dutchmen Offensive Assistant Coach.
 
Thompson assumes the interim duties after guiding LVC's offense and mentoring quarterback Braden Bohannon '25, the program's all-time leader in total offense. LVC football led the conference with 62 student-athletes on the MAC Academic Honor Roll and five honorees on the Academic All-MAC football squad. Evan Kutzler '25 was named the conference's Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the program's first Academic All-American.
 
Thompson is an accomplished football executive and coach with over 20 years of experience, including over 15 years at the highest levels of professional football. His journey in professional football has included stops in the NFL, XFL, Arena Football League (AFL), National Arena League (NAL), Alliance of American Football (AAF), and Indoor Football League (IFL).
 
His first LVC stint came in 2004 when he was on the football staff, before pursuing a professional playing and coaching career. Returning in 2021, Thompson's leadership helped LVC's offense consistently rank among the top in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) for the past three years. The program has eclipsed 30 or more points 10 times, appeared in the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series twice (LVC's appearances in 2022 and 2023 mark the program's first consecutive bowl games since 2008 and 2009), and posted three consecutive top four finishes in the MAC.