Tony grew up in New Orleans,
Louisiana. He comes from a home of two hardworking
parents. He was encouraged to pursue excellence
in athletics and academics by his parents
who were the first in their families to
receive both undergraduate and advanced
degrees.
Tony was one of the rare dual sport athletes
in college, which made for no off-season.
He was a 4-year starter in football and
a 2-year starter in baseball. He became
a Pac-10 Champion in both sports. He was
1st Team All Pac-10 and a 1st Team Consensus
All American in football. He was also on
the cover of Sports Illustrated.
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Tony
holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Media
Arts from the University of Arizona (1994),
which he finished in only four years. He
began pursuit of his first master's degree
while still playing ball in college and
completed it while playing in the NFL, a
Masters of Arts in Literacy and Education
from the University of Arizona (1997). After
a prolific college career, Tony went un-drafted.
He fought his way onto the Tampa Bay Buccaneer
roster in the NFL after being cut the last
week of training camp. His career lasted
four years in Tampa. |
| He played several years under
the well respected and Super Bowl winning
coach Tony Dungy. After the NFL, like many
other professional athletes, he did not
make enough money to retire. He had to decide
what to do next. He began a new business,
and through that experience, he felt he
needed more business knowledge to reach
the same heights in the business world as
he did in athletics. While working full-time,
he pursued and acquired a Masters of Business
Administration from the W.P. Carey School
of Business at Arizona State University
(2005) at the age of 32. |
| While owning his first business,
Tony had a novel idea on developing a stackable
cup that dispenses with an attached lid.
After receiving customer interest in the
multi-billion dollar cup industry, Tony
wrote a business plan while getting his
MBA. He won grant money from Arizona State
University, and then raised private funds
to start his company. Tony became Chairman
and CEO of Halo Cups, Inc., a distributor
of the patented and award-winning SwoopCup™.
Like many people, the economic downturn
brought hardship on Halo Cups, Inc. Tony
again returned to school at the University
of Akron and completed his Masters of
Science in Sports Administration in one
year while coaching collegiate football.
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Tony and Allison have
three children.
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In addition, Tony currently serves on
the national boards of the Leukemia &
Lymphoma Society and National Football
Player's Association. He has served on
the University of Arizona National Alumni
Board of Directors and is past Vice President
of the University of Arizona Maricopa
County Black Alumni Association. He was
also inducted into the University of Arizona
Sports Hall of Fame in 2000 and has his
name in the Ring of Honor on the facade
of the Arizona Football Stadium.
In December 2007, Tony was diagnosed with
stage four Lymphoma, a blood cancer. Tony
underwent chemotherapy in the spring of
2008 to eliminate the cancer from his
body. As a cancer survivor, he knows tomorrow
is not promised and now dedicates his
life to the service of others. He lives
a cancer free life today.
Tony has been married to his wife, Allison,
a former schoolteacher, for 10 years.
Despite all of his athletic accomplishments,
he and his wife are most proud of their
three children. They reside in Anthem,
Arizona. Tony and his family are active
members of Christ Church of the Valley
in Peoria, AZ.
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Arizona's New Conservative Voice
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