Spartans' Ben Thienes Honored With National Award

San Antonio, Texas ----- San José State University Assistant Athletics Director for Football Operations Ben Thienes received the 2022 Football Scoop Operations Director of the Year Award presented by AstroTurf at the American Football Coaches Association's (AFCA) annual convention.
 
Football Scoop's Operations Director of the Year award is one of several position awards given by annually in January. Thienes' award encompasses the 2020 and 2021 seasons when the Spartans won the Mountain West championship in 2020 and the daily challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic locally, statewide, and nationally.
 
A member of the San José State football staff and the athletics department since 2017, in his eyes, Thienes views his daily responsibilities similar to the sight of waking up with a view of a serene and clear mountain lake.
 
"My goal is for everybody to do their jobs, the way they're hired to do whether it be to coach, recruit, film practice, create 'cut-ups,' whatever their responsibility is inside the department. My goal is to make everything around them as crystal clear as possible and as picturesque as the mountain lake," said Thienes, who likens his responsibilities to those of a general manager for a professional sports team franchise.

"Looking back on the COVID year, it is incredible to remember how willing everyone was to help – the hotel, bus, and airport workers; food vendors; especially our staff; and many more. We experienced and practiced the power of kindness and caring about each other, especially in a transactional environment. That is what helped us have success in 2020 and a lesson we all can take forward."
 
Embarking on his sixth season with the Spartans, he came to San José State as the team's director of football operations and was promoted to his present position of assistant athletics director for football operations in 2020. Besides overseeing and managing the football team's daily operations, he is involved in future football scheduling and the Spartan Athletics Center facility project on the east side of CEFCU Stadium, Home of the Spartans, scheduled to open prior to the 2023 football season.
 
Thienes is Football Scoop's first director of operations award winner from a Mountain West member school and just the second award winner from a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institution located in the Pacific and Mountain time zones since the award's inception in 2009.
 
The 2008 Boise State University graduate majored in psychology and earned a master's degree in kinesiology and behavioral studies from his alma mater in 2013. His professional career includes positions as an assistant high school and community college football coach, a graduate assistant at Boise State and the University of Washington, and two seasons at Portland State University as an assistant football coach and director of player personnel.
 
"'There is no one in the country believe is more deserving than Ben. He represents our team and this profession at large so well. He is consistently thinking ahead and thinking through challenges, and coming up with solutions. We owe a huge amount of success to Ben and his staff. We're very fortunate to have him, and I couldn't do it without him,'' San Jose State football head coach Brent Brennan told Football Scoop.

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