Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame
Tom Anthony’s collegiate football career took many turns, but in his three seasons at Augustana, he proved to be a dynamic performer on both sides of the ball for Coach Jim Barnes’ Vikings. A first team All-American in 2005, when he led all of college football with 13 interceptions, Anthony helped lead Augustana to a 24-7 record, including an undefeated CCIW title during his senior year.
Anthony enjoyed a stellar three-sport career at Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf, Iowa. He earned all-conference and all-state recognition in both football and basketball and placed at state three times in track, winning a conference championship and setting the Spartans’ school record in the 110 hurdles.
The first stop on Anthony’s football odyssey was Ames, Iowa and Iowa State University, where his brother Chris had been a standout wide receiver. After a taking a redshirt season as a freshman in 2001, Tom decided to head back to the Quad-Cities and enrolled at Augustana.
An immediate force on the offensive side of the ball, Anthony led the 7-2 Vikings—not known for a high-powered aerial attack—with 33 receptions. At the time, that ranked sixth-best in school history, as did his six touchdown grabs. More impressively, he averaged 20.5 yards per catch and his 675 receiving yards were fourth-most in a single season at Augustana.
His stellar freshman season prompted Anthony to take another shot at Division I football, this time through the junior college ranks. In his one season at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Iowa, he again snared 33 passed for 633 yards and nine touchdowns, helping the Panthers go 6-4. However, a Division I opportunity didn’t present itself, so it was back to Rock Island, where a new role awaited him.
In 2004, Anthony rarely left the field. He again led the team in receptions, hauling in eight of the Vikings’ 22 pass completions on the year. He averaged a whopping 29.0 yards per catch and three of his eight grabs went for touchdowns. He also saw time in the defensive backfield, recording 14 tackles, two interceptions and three pass breakups. There was no breather on special teams either. He was Augustana’s leading punt returner and finished second in kickoff returns as the team finished 7-3.
That set the stage for a 2005 season that saw Barnes’ bunch go a perfect 7-0 on its way to a CCIW championship. While he was used primarily on the defensive side of the ball, Anthony was also on the receiving end of four of the Vikings’ 17 completions to finish second on the team. He picked off 13 opposition passes, more than other player in college football, and broke up an additional eight throws. He recorded 42 tackles and was named the CCIW Defensive Player of the Year. Augustana advanced to the NCAA Division III Playoffs, downing Lakeland at home before falling on the road to Mount Union to finish the year 10-2. Anthony collected D3football.com first team All-Region and All-America honors.
Despite spending just one season as a full-time receiver, Anthony finished his career eighth on the Vikings’ all-time receiving yards list with 1,005. That figure currently ranks 13th in school history, while his 22.33 yards-per-catch average is second all-time and his 10 touchdown grabs are tied for seventh. His 15 career interceptions are also tied for seventh-most in school history.
After graduating from Augustana in 2005 with a degree in political science, Anthony went on to earn his master’s in business management from the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois.
Currently the defensive coordinator at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois, Anthony whetted his appetite for coaching by serving as a grad assistant while pursuing his master’s at St. Francis. Subsequent coaching stops included assistant jobs at Youngstown State and Miami (Ohio) before he secured defensive coordinator positions at Lake Erie, St. Ambrose, Texas Southern and now, Western Illinois. He also played professionally, logging arena football stints with the New York Dragons, Albany Quest and Quad City Steamwheelers.
Tom and his wife, Kelsey, live in Macomb with children Becca and Michael.
“It was a privilege and an honor to be a Viking. So many great men and women have been blessed with the opportunity to be an athlete at Augustana. To be inducted into the Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame is something that I could never have imagined. The friendships and memories that I experienced during my time at Augie will stay with me forever. I did not realize it at the time, but so many lessons learned have influenced the way I coach young men today. My life was changed for the better by the great men I played for at Augie.”
