Chris Thomsen Named Texas Tech Football Interim Head Coach for Meineke Car Care Bowl

Texas Tech Athletics today named Chris Thomsen the interim head coach for Texas Tech Football. Thomsen will lead the Red Raiders at the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas against Minnesota. During the regular season Thomsen coached the offensive line.

His previous coaching experience includes a seven year stint as head coach of the Abilene Christian Wildcats. At ACU, Thomsen went 47-15 and he led the Wildcats to the NCAA Division II playoffs six consecutive seasons. He was also named the Lone Star Conference South Division Coach of the Year award four times.

Thomsen stated that Sonny Cumbie will call the offensive plays and will also coach the quarterbacks during bowl practices. The defensive coaching staff will remain the same from the regular season, for the bowl game.

When asked about now-former offensive coordinator Neal Brown, Thomsen congratulated him on his new job at Kentucky (offensive coordinator for Mark Stoops). "I am super excited for Neal to be able to coach at a place he played. I got to opportunity to work with Neal for a year and am incredibly impressed in his (coaching) abilities and his character and who he is as a person," Thomsen said.

Thomsen also echoed Kirby Hocutt's sentiments from Saturday concerning fan support at the Meineke Car Care Bowl, "Guys jump higher, run faster and play harder when there's people in the stands going crazy. And that's the awesome thing about Texas Tech: is the culture around this (program). The excitement around football. And if people come out and show their support down in Houston, that will be a huge thing for our players."

Texas Tech plays Minnesota December 28 at Reliant Stadium. Tickets can be purchased online at TexasTech.com.