THE FLATS – Jack Thompson, who spent more than 50 years serving Georgia Tech athletics from his days as a football recruiter to leading the Yellow Jackets’ fundraising efforts, has passed away at the age of 84.
In his career with Georgia Tech Athletics, Jack Thompson made an indelible mark, first as a football recruiter who touched the lives of many of the Yellow Jackets who passed through the program in the 1960s and 1970s, but more importantly as a fundraiser in the Alexander-Tharpe Fund, Georgia Tech athletics’ development arm, spearheading fundraising efforts for the construction or major renovation of every athletics facility on Tech’s campus. His efforts also provided scholarships for thousands of student-athletes to receive their education and degrees from Georgia Tech.
“Jack was a friend, mentor and counselor to so many of us former student-athletes and the one who helped many of us get our first jobs out of Tech,” said Georgia Tech director of athletics Todd Stansbury. “What an incredible legacy he has in the thousands of Georgia Tech student-athletes he helped along the way. Jack’s passing is a tremendous loss personally for all of us who knew him and worked with him, and to the many alumni and benefactors who have supported our athletic programs over his many years of service. He was a Georgia Tech institution. During his half century here, there was not one student-athlete, coach or staff member that came through The Flats who didn’t benefit from Jack’s hard work, incredible talent and love for the Yellow Jackets. He will be greatly missed.”