BERKELEY – Aristotle Thompson has agreed to become Cal's running backs coach, head coach Justin Wilcox announced on Tuesday. Thompson has spent the past 11 seasons coaching running backs at Cal Poly. Under Thompson's tutelage, the Mustangs fielded a strong run game that featured at least one 1,000-yard rusher each of the past nine campaigns and helped put together five consecutive winning seasons from 2010-14.
Thompson and Wilcox worked together previously at Boise State, first in 2001 when Thompson was an assistant strength & conditioning coach for the Broncos and Wilcox was a graduate assistant in his first season in the coaching profession. The two teamed up again during the 2007 and 2008 seasons with Thompson the assistant director of football operations and Wilcox the defensive coordinator. The Broncos were 30-7 during their three seasons together in Boise and played in bowl games each of the final two years.
"I know first-hand the type of coach and person Aristotle is," Wilcox said. "He joins our program after spending more than a decade coaching and teaching at a strong academic institution like Cal Poly, and understanding that type of strong academic environment is important. He also has a long track record of developing running backs, and he is well-known and well-liked in recruiting circles, particularly on the West Coast."
"I am excited to become part of a tremendous coaching staff at Cal," Thompson said. "This is a program that has established a great culture over the last three years and I'll do everything I can to contribute to it."
Thompson was a four-year letterwinner as a running back at Boise State (1997-2000), helping the Broncos to their first two Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conference championships with Big West titles in 1999 and 2000. Boise State also won the Humanitarian Bowl both years with victories over Louisville (1999) and UTEP (2000). Thompson earned a bachelor's of arts degree in social sciences with an emphasis in criminal justice from Boise State in 2001 and is a 1996 graduate of Jesuit High School in Portland. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in athletic administration at Idaho State.
Aristotle Thompson Coaching History
Seasons: Team – Position
2001: Boise State – Assistant Strength And Conditioning Coach
2002: Nampa High School (Nampa, Idaho) – Wide Receivers/Defensive Backs
2003-04: Eastern Oregon – Wide Receivers
2005-06: Grant High School (Portland, Ore.) – Defensive Coordinator/Running Backs
2007-08: Boise State – Assistant Director of Football Operations
2009-19: Cal Poly – Running Backs/ Recruiting Coordinator; Assistant Head Coach (2017-19)
Aristotle Thompson File
Birthdate: September 11, 1978
Hometown: Portland, Ore.
High School: Jesuit (Portland, Ore.)
College: Boise State, 2001, BS, Social Sciences with emphasis in Criminal Justice
Family: Wife, Sarah; Sons – Brock, Bryson, Lennon; Daughters – Akyra, Payton
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