Sarah Thompson Named East Mississippi Community College’s New Head Cheerleading Coach

SCOOBA — With coaching and competition experience within the Mississippi junior college ranks as well as at the NCAA level, Sarah Thompson has been named the new head cheerleading coach at East Mississippi Community College. The announcement was made this week by Sharon Thompson, EMCC's Director of Athletics and Dean of Students for the Scooba Campus.

"We're very excited to have Sarah Thompson join the EMCC athletics family as the Lions' head cheerleading coach," (EMCC AD) Sharon Thompson said. "Sarah brings impressive coaching credentials and vast cheer knowledge that makes her a tremendous addition to our athletics coaching staff here at East Mississippi."

Having served in the same capacity at Mississippi Delta Community College during the 2024-25 academic year, Thompson will also assist with the academic recruiting aspect of EMCC's Enrollment Management department in addition to her cheer coaching responsibilities. She succeeds former EMCC head cheer coach Danielle McDade, who retired from her cheerleading responsibilities this past spring to concentrate on her full-time duties as EMCC's psychology instructor for the Scooba campus.

"I'm beyond excited and extremely thankful to Sharon Thompson and the entire EMCC administration for the opportunity to be the new head coach of the Lions' cheer program," Sarah Thompson said. "EMCC athletics is held at a championship standard, and I can't wait to contribute to that legacy."

In addition to her cheer and dance coaching responsibilities at Mississippi Delta this past academic year, Thompson also jointly served as an academic advisor on the Moorhead campus. She made an immediate impact guiding MDCC's cheer and dance program by sending six cheerleaders to the university level – five at Delta State and another at Mississippi Valley State.

Thompson's cheer coaching career began as a graduate assistant at her alma mater under the guidance of head coach Mary Elizabeth Evans at Delta State after spending the 2020-21 and 2021-22 academic years cheering for the Statesmen. While earning her bachelor's degree in psychology and her master's degree in criminal justice and criminology from DSU, Thompson received the Green & White Leadership Award along with having been an inducted member of the National Society of Leadership and Success as a Magna Cum Laude graduate.

Thompson also had prior cheerleading experience within the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) as a two-year cheerleader for head coach Heather Hilderbrand Jones at Holmes Community College. While cheering for the Bulldogs during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 academic years, Thompson was named to the Phi Theta Kappa All-Academic Team as well as having been recognized as a PTK Order of the Golden Key Award recipient.

At the prep level, Thompson was a multi-sport letterwinner at Benton Academy and received numerous athletic and academic honors, including Hall of Fame and Lady Raider Award recognition as a senior in 2018.

A native of Bentonia, Mississippi, the former Sarah Hardy is married to Mac Thompson, a fellow Delta State graduate who is employed as the environmental health and safety coordinator at the Huber Engineered Woods facility based in Shuqualak. Married this past January, the newlyweds reside in Noxapater.