April 1, 2025 • 56 mins
What happens after winning a Super Bowl and two national championships?
Former Nebraska football star Tony Veland shares his journey from the field to the boardroom as the Director of Development for the University of Nebraska Foundation. For Tony, it doesn’t matter whether he’s in the sports arena or the boundless field of life. He is strongly committed to encouraging, imparting knowledge, and helping in any way he can.
For today’s episode of The Ripple Effect Podcast, Tony opens up about transitioning from a football athlete to a community leader. He also discusses why STEM education and engineering careers are crucial for the future, how companies must adapt to workforce development, and the value of mentorship and teamwork.
Tony’s passion for giving back is stronger than ever as he continues to mentor young athletes and professionals to achieve their dreams. He also serves on numerous nonprofit boards, building positive lasting change for those in the community. Bringing the discipline and lessons of sports to life, Tony is 100% an inspiring force and a role model for all!
This interview will surely leave an indelible mark on whoever gets to hear Tony’s message and legacy.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Guys, you know why I love doingthis show? It's because I get to
(00:03):
meet so many amazing people. Andtoday's guest is no exception.
He is a two time nationalchampion for the Nebraska
Cornhusker football program anda Super Bowl champion for the
Denver Broncos. I am talkingabout Tony VLAN. Tony veeland,
the director of development forthe University of Nebraska
Foundation, is an OMAfoundation. Is an Omaha native
(00:23):
who is known for his pastaccomplishments in the sports
arena as a former NebraskaCornhusker in Denver Bronco as a
two time national champion and aSuper Bowl champion. He's
experienced success at thehighest levels, and he loves to
use his platform to encouragethe next generation to be
successful in life beyond theareas of athletics, he's also an
advocate for the community, ashe serves on numerous nonprofit
(00:46):
boards trying to impactpositive, lasting change for
those in his community. Firsttime I've ever had a national
champion and a Super Bowlchampion on the show. I am
stoked. I met Tony a few yearsback. We actually sat on a panel
for a tech conference where wewere getting to impart a little
bit of wisdom to some of thehigh schoolers that were in
(01:06):
attendance for that conferenceabout technology and tech as a
potential career path, whatbusiness ownership and
entrepreneurship opened as faras opportunities. It was such a
blast, but I really was justenamored with Tony. He has one
of the most approachablepersonality. He's one of the
nicest guys, no ego whatsoever,and just an all around great
(01:26):
individual to be around. So I'mso grateful that we finally put
this together where we could gethim on the ripple effect
podcast, because I've got somany questions, I'm a little bit
nervous. I mean, he is achampion on the highest order,
and I'm just so grateful that heis spending a little bit of time
with us to dig in, do a littlerippling. So with no further
ado, let's get into conversationwith Tony VLAN.
(02:02):
You well,
Tony, welcome to the rippleeffect podcast. How you doing
today? I'm doing really good,man. It's really good to see
you. How are things with you?
It's good to see you, and thingsare going great. It's been, I
can't believe you look up andit's almost been two years since
we saw each other at the HCCconference. So it looks like
(02:23):
you've had some changes sincethe last time I saw you, too.
Huh? I
did. I did. No longer with theaim Institute. I made a move to
the University of NebraskaFoundation. So still in the
education area, focusing onraising funds for the College of
Engineering, so still staying inthat stem area, but kind of
(02:44):
going back home to my almamater.
I love that. What? What was itthat prompted you to go back and
do this kind of work?
Well, to be honest, which I itwasn't like, it's something I
was looking for. You know, mysupervisor ended up, and they
were looking for someone in thedirectors field and then
development field. And I thinkjust because I I'd been in this
(03:05):
area, I was a former, you know,engineering grad, you know, when
I was an alum. So obviously Ifeel extremely strongly about,
you know, what's going on downthere. I think it just kind of
made a match. And so they camelooking, and wasn't necessarily
looking to leave, but they, youknow, gave a pretty good pitch.
And I was like, let's make thismove. That's awesome.
(03:25):
So can you give us a little kindof an idea of what you do day to
day in terms of your currentwork responsibilities?
Yeah. So I'm the director ofdevelopment for the College of
Engineering for the foundation,and so in essence, what we're
trying to do is meet with formeralumni and former supporters to
continue their support. We'retrying to get, you know, more
(03:48):
people to get into this field.We're trying to make it cheaper
for students to get there byproviding for scholarships, and
we're also trying to provideaccess. So the same thing that I
was doing at AIM was trying toget people to the STEM fields,
I'm assuming here, butspecifically for engineering.
And you know, we have a lot ofsupport for Nebraska in general.
(04:10):
There's a lot of support for thethe field of engineering, just
because it has such an impact oneconomic development in this
area. Also, it's been a greatmove, and I've had a chance to
meet quite a few people withinthe industry, just because of
it.
I love that. Well, when you andI met at the HDC conference, you
(04:31):
know I was, that was my firsttime to Omaha, and it was, I was
completely blown away by theamount of enthusiasm and
momentum that's happening inNebraska, in the technology air
arena. Can you share a littlebit about what you've seen, how
that's evolved over the lastcouple of years, and maybe
what's got you most excited asyou as you're navigating into
(04:53):
this new role?
Well, it's been interesting. Youknow, I'll say, even though I
was. An engineering grad. I wasnever really in the tech field,
or really, really used mydegree. But, you know, being in
this particular field, I mean,you understand that. You just,
you know, look at everyday, nothings that are going on.
(05:16):
Technology is moving fast,right? It's moving extremely
fast. And we can either get onboard or we're going to get, you
know, passed up or run by,right? And so I've kind of seen
this moment, which is one of thereasons that I joined aim in the
first place, you know, sevenyears ago, because I saw, you
know, an area where you know, ifyou aren't getting involved, you
(05:38):
know, you want to be leftbehind. And obviously I've
always been a big proponent of,you know, community first, and
trying to make sure that thepeople who are around me had
opportunities to be successfuland and I think I share this
with you in the passion and mybackground has always been
sports, you know, so having thefootball background, I can go to
talk to kids, and I'm blowingthe face about, you know,
(05:59):
practice, sales and working hardand doing all that stuff. But
you know, what it kind of camedown to for me was that I felt
like I was only talking to aselect few students, because
there's only a few kids who weregoing to be able to get
scholarships, or maybe, youknow, one or two out of 1000
kids that I, you know, wouldtalk to, would go to the NFL,
right? But everybody can beaffected by tech. You know, kids
are playing video games. Theygot their cell phones out. They
(06:21):
got the social media stuff. Youknow, people know, people are
starting all kinds of businessesnow from the internet, so I felt
this would be a better way tokind of reach kids and give them
an opportunity to be successful.And so, you know, that's the
reason why I jumped in. But youknow, the thing is, you know,
that is really affectingeverything, right? And companies
are becoming more technical.They're understanding that if
(06:42):
they don't have kids or youththat have those types of skills,
and that they're not going tobe, you know, proficient long
term. So it's just been kind ofa movement, you know, over this
last especially after COVID,it's just been really kind of a
movement, and people are reallymaking moves towards it. And so,
you know, I saw the excitementwith that, and I wanted to be a
part of it. Because, again, Iwant to allow my community to
(07:06):
rise, and if I can open doorsand create more access to them
being successful long term,that's what I wanted
to do. Let's go back a littlebit. So what was it about
engineering when you were cominginto your, you know, your
college years, that that waskind of the area that you
decided to focus on. Obviously,you know, we're going to touch
on your sports background,because it's very, very
(07:26):
impressive. But, you know,obviously, from an education
perspective, that's a prettythat's a pretty hard track to
tackle. So what was it that ledyou down that path? You
know? But it is, I think whatstarted it was, I was, I was
good in science and math. Ithink that's kind of what
started. And then I was involvedin this group that was called
mccasa When I was in highschool. And I can't remember
(07:49):
what the actual acronym stoodfor, but it was something, you
know, minorities and engineeringtype situation. And so we met a
few times, and some of thethings that they were doing were
interesting. And then we went,we took a tour down the K State,
and I got in front of a numberof professors, and they were
kind of just talking about thethings that were happening. Then
I remember being this, you know,this, this robotics club type
(08:13):
thing, and so, so I was justexcited. I was like, okay, yeah,
this, this makes sense, youknow, I think I can see myself
doing this long term. And I knewit wasn't something that was
that was easy. But, you know, Iwasn't about taking the easy
path at that particular time.And I was trying to make sure
that, you know, I was doingsomething that would be
beneficial society long term,something that I could grow from
(08:35):
and learn from. And you know,that was, that's just, just what
I was about. So I decided tojump in with with both feet and
and I got down to college, and Iwas like, Okay, I understand the
struggle. Now it's, the struggleis real, and there was no lie,
right? The struggle is real. Andit was, it was a challenge. It
(08:59):
was, it was a big challenge,because playing football, you
only have so much time today,right? Yeah, for classes, and
half your day is, is almost afootball and so I'm not with
with the rank and file, as faras getting tutors and and having
study sessions, you know, therewas about maybe five or six of
(09:19):
us that was in the footballdepartment that were actually
doing engineering things aswell, and some of those were in
different parts of engineering.So, you know, only two of those
that I could actually go withand ask questions for so that
made it kind of difficult aswell, but I still wanted to do
it in and I did it, and I got inthere for about three years
before I decided to one, butthat I wanted to change and do
(09:39):
something a little bitdifferent. I got three years
into engineering, and then Iengineering, and then I did a
discipline of business. So Igraduated within the
interdisciplinary degree, and itworked out well. Even though I
didn't I never used myengineering degree formally, it
actually worked out well
for me. Ah, I mean, what? Sothe. Area of interest for you,
(10:02):
that kind of stoke thatcuriosity and that fire, even
though you know you sort of madethe shift towards the end. How
does that inform how you youwork with people that are maybe
considering technology as adirection for their career path
now, or trying to incentivizepeople to want to come to the
University of Nebraska now tolearn about the great programs
they have. Can you take some ofthat and apply that to amp up
(10:23):
people's excitement for theirown, you know, their own journey
ahead? Well,
when it comes down to it, I justtalk about the opportunity.
Yeah, there's a huge shortageof, you know, people in those
fields, especially in thisparticular area. You know, we
need for my mistake and thenumbers we were trying to
create, like five or 10,000 moreengineers in this area, in this
(10:47):
local, specific right? And we'refortunate to have some really
good engineering firms andconstruction management firms
that really believewholeheartedly and bringing
along people within the state,right? And so, you know, case in
point you gotta, you gotta keepwith that does a lot of hiring
from you have an HDR, you know,companies like that, who who
(11:08):
really want to provideopportunities for people here to
learn and and build and grow andgive back to the community that
they that they actually wereraised in. And so when you have
that kind of support and youhave the opportunity, Why not
marry the two, right? Plusyou're staying, of course, and
you're building your community,you're building the businesses.
So it just creates kind of thiswin, win scenario. And so I'm
(11:31):
not trying to ever, you know,force anybody to do something
that they don't want to do, butI do want to let them know that
there, if there's a greatopportunity in an industry that
is stable, that is growing, whynot look at that industry,
especially when it's beingsupported by local industries?
Absolutely
and just just the numbers thatyou just shared. I mean, that's
a significant potential jobopportunity for that area. What
(11:53):
can you what can you tell usabout just Nebraska and the
movement that's happening tocapture more of those large
institutional type owners thatare focused on bringing tech to,
you know, the Midwest.
Well. I mean, I think if you canjust look at, you know, kind of
the history of what's been goingon probably the last decade. I
mean, you've got companies like,you know, Facebook versus meta,
(12:14):
you know, Amazon, you know,PayPal, you've got companies who
are moving here, and they'removing here for a reason, right?
I mean, it's better from aneconomic standpoint. You have,
you know, the work ethic hereyou're in the city, so it makes
it easy to travel nationally andthat type of thing. So it's and
we're getting a lot moreattention and notoriety, you
(12:38):
know, for, you know, cost ofliving, you know, the however
things are going here. And so,if you really paid attention,
there's been a huge move towardsthis, towards the Midwest,
right? And we're kind of chargedwith that, right? And so, and if
you're seeing that, and you're aworker, you're like, Okay,
something is going on aboutOmaha that I might not have
known in the past. Yeah, yeah. Ishould think about this, you
know, the other part of it is,you know, you have somebody that
(13:01):
might be in New York, maybe inFlorida, might be in Texas.
Well, their cost of livings arepretty high. Your dollar can go
a heck of a loss. Yeah, yep, insome of those places there. And
so again, I think it justcreates, you know, a great
opportunity to take advantage ofa growing field, and also being
(13:26):
a place where I think that goodlife moniker is actually real.
You said about Midwesternpeople, Midwestern values, and I
think people would relish thatbeing a part of
that. Well, I have to say I getto travel around all over the
country, and being in Omaha forabout two and a half days, I
(13:47):
have to say those were thenicest people. The entire
community was just so great, andthe event was fantastic. But
even the side conversations forfolks that I knew had not grown
up in Omaha, I, you know, Iasked him, Why, why do you stay?
Why do you like it? Andeverybody talks about, you know,
the family field. It's a greatplace to raise a family. It's a
(14:09):
great place to build yourcommunity. And, you know, folks
are like, you know, I can't seemyself, you know, having now
experienced this going anywhereelse, because it's just such a
welcoming, commit community. Andno matter what you're trying to
accomplish or what you want todo for your career, it's just a
good spot to do it and trust
and trust me, it just, it justgrows on people. Like, I always
(14:30):
go back to my football days myfirst year here, you've got all
these guys that are from, youknow, California and Texas and
Florida, and they hate it here.They like, like, Why did I make
this is the dumbest move thatI've ever done, but I'll tell
you to a T by the time wegraduated, I'm gonna say
(14:52):
probably 80% of those peoplestayed right, because it just,
it just grew on them, right? Itwas just a lot that, you know,
I. Okay, I love my love home,but I'm gonna stay here. I'm
gonna make this my new home. AndI think it just grows on anybody
that comes here. It's just, it'skind of a hidden gem that you
realize once you spend some timehere.
I love that and but you grew upin Nebraska, right? So was that?
(15:13):
So did you always know that youwanted to go to the University
of Nebraska, or were youconsidering other programs? Or,
I know I didn't know thatinitially, okay, you know, I I
really wanted to go to Stanford.I also thought about going to
Colorado. I know that's kind ofcrazy to say. At that particular
(15:36):
time, you know, I had gotten acouple of letters from them, and
there was some interest thereand then. And I had some
interest some other places,well. But I really wasn't
thinking about Nebraska, becauseI wasn't like, a like, I would
watch football, like, as a kid,watch as well. And my dad was an
avid Oklahoma fan, you know. So,you know, back in the day the
(15:59):
Oklahoma in Nebraska rivalry, wehad that big game going on as
big Yeah, yes, he was in. My dadwas always like, Boomer Sooner.
And under my breath, I'm like,Go Big Red. You know that it was
kind of that, that flavor. But Ididn't find out. I didn't
realize that I really wanted togo until I went to a football
camp my junior year. I went downthere, and it was the first time
(16:23):
I had actually, you know,performed against kids out of
state. It was the first time I'dever really been at a football
camp. I did, you know, prettywell. And I it was just a great
feel. I got offered, you know,that particular time, and I was
just like, you know, these guysare winning, you know, nine to
10 games every single year. It'sat home, it's close. My mom and
(16:45):
dad could come here. It would bestupid not to go here. Yeah, so,
and it turned out that that was,honestly, that was probably one
of the best decisions that I'veever
made. So you were there, so youwon two national championships,
which, congratulations, that'sso freaking awesome. Was those
were with Tom Tom Osborne asyour coach, right? Yeah. So what
(17:05):
can you tell us a little bitabout what that was like to be
coached by him? I mean, he's,he's a legendary football coach,
for sure.
Well, it was amazing, like, forme, it was, it was amazing. He
was just one of those guys wherehe just had this presence about
him, this aura, you know, andit's kind of hard to describe
you, don't. I had never met him,you know, before he come into,
(17:28):
you know, pretty much my livingroom, and he's trying to, you
know, get me to come down there,but it's like he walks in and
you're just like, I can trustthis guy. You know, it's just
something about him. I could, Ican trust him and, and he's just
one of those people that I don'tthink that I could have had a
coach have a stronger impact onme during my life, at that
(17:50):
particular time. You know, to beable to go down there and have
somewhat of a father figure, andsomeone who, you know his name
from a football standpoint,speaks for itself. But I think
body that is around himunderstands that his integrity,
his character, all that state,is far and above greater than
(18:11):
what he's accomplished atfootball. You know, when nothing
happens to coach Osborne, thisstate will probably shut down
for for a while, because he hasthat type of impact, but, but he
was just great because he caredmore about the man than he did
about the football player. Andyou know how he ran the program,
it was evident and him havingcoaches that had been there, you
(18:33):
know, 20 years plus, theyweren't making crazy money, but
everybody was completely boughtinto the program. And it says a
lot when you can have a man takeover a program, and like doing
this program again, we'rewinning, you know, 1011, 12
games. 1011, games, almost everyyear. We're in the conference
(18:53):
championship, you know, almostor the visit championship,
almost every year. But you canstill rally people enough to say
that's not enough, like we'vegot to be like, we've got to go
for that higher level. And so,you know, he was able to do
that. And you know, I, I wasjust completely and totally
blessed just to be around him,you know, from the time that I
(19:15):
was is
there, you know, a lesson or apiece of advice that he gave you
that resonates in sort of helpsguide how you lead today in your
own right.
I just think you know when it'sall said and done, he was just
about the man being more aboutthe man, and also given second
chances. I think if anythingstands out more than Well,
(19:37):
there's two things to me thatstand out. Number one is that,
you know, he cares so much thathe remembers all the details
about people. You know, he'shad, I don't know how many
hundreds of football players. Ican't tell you one time that
I've ever been around a playerwhere he didn't know the
player's name, he didn't knowthe players, the mother's name,
a brother or sister, using someintegral detail about. Them,
(20:00):
right? That just says a lotabout who you are. The other
thing is, I always go back to,you know, there were always, you
know, a few out the field issuesthat were going on within the
place, right? And it will bevery easy for him to, you know,
just, you know, kick a personout the program, not bring any,
you know, craziness to him or,you know, but he wasn't like
(20:21):
that. He was about secondchances all the time. He was
about, I'm here to help kids andtry to make them grow, try to
make them become better people.And I will always, you know,
more than anything else, alwaysremember him more for, you know,
how he handled, you know, theonce fill situation and Scotty
Baldwin situation. Because, youknow, he was like, Okay, I may
(20:41):
take it on the chin for this,but I'm going to do what I can
to try to give them the bestopportunity at a successful life
after football. And so thatalways stood out for me.
I have a good friend when heleft Nebraska, you know, he did,
had a small stint at OhioUniversity, right? His coach,
you know, was advising, I thinkended up becoming their athletic
(21:02):
director. I may be wrong on thatpart, but the person that I know
here in Austin that was actuallyresponsible for the alumni that
went to seek him out and try toget him to come over as to their
program, they made that samecomment when they talked to him.
It was amazing how much time andenergy he had put in to get to
know everybody he was meetingwith get the background in
(21:22):
history and then why they werepassionate about their program,
right? What was it about theiruniversity that they were
excited about? And rather thanthem interviewing him, it almost
felt like the opposite, right?He was really trying to get them
to help him understand why theywould care, why it was important
to them for him to maybeconsider it as a program. And so
(21:44):
I had mentioned that I was goingto be interviewing one of his
former players, and she justsaid, it's almost exact, like
you did one of the nicest guysthat you had just carried
himself had a presence that wasreally so significant, exactly.
Yeah, that's awesome. Well, youhave that presence too. Let me
tell you my man. I was telling,you know, your intro, like
you're when we're on that panel.I was just so, so enamored, not
(22:08):
because it would be easy to kindof be a fanboy, right? Because
you're a two time nationalchampion, you won a Super Bowl.
You have this aura as thisprofessional athlete. But the
thing that I looked at was notany of that, although I'm very,
very impressed with that, andwe'll dig into that a little bit
more, but at the end of the day,you were just one of the nicest,
most grounded individuals that Icould possibly ever hope to
(22:30):
meet. We only talked for alittle bit, but I liked how I
watched you interact with almosteverybody, but especially the
kids that had questions, youknow, after our panel that came
up and talked to you, and justhow you made the time for them,
and just got down on theirlevel, and you could see
stimulated them to think aboutwhere they could go and what the
(22:50):
possibilities out there were,which is an absolute gift. Well,
I
appreciate that. I appreciatethat. But it's, it's all because
I remember being those kids.Yeah, yep, I know. I come from a
neighborhood where, seemingly,it doesn't just seem like
there's a lot of opportunity outof right? And so, you know,
(23:11):
there were times when, you know,maybe I felt like, like, I don't
know what my future looks like,you know, I don't see a lot of
positivity. How can I make itout, you know, those type of
situations, and so always wantedto be a person that people could
look to, to, you know, provideencouragement, you know,
provided help, you know, andalways say, like, yeah, okay, I,
(23:34):
I have these championships. Youknow, that's great. I'm no
better than you. You know, Icame from this issue you you
know, if you want to go to thoseareas, I can try to help you get
there. You will never look at meand be like, okay, he doesn't
care. You know, he doesn't wantto, you know, give a helping
hand. You know, I care foreverybody. You know, not just
people who live like me. I carefor everybody, and I want people
(23:56):
to come together to make thiswork. Because I truly feel, and
I believe this in my heart, Itruly feel we were all put on
this earth to help each other,right? And I just help somebody
looks like me to help eachother. And if we were, if we
could ever get past all the, youknow, the the things that aren't
similar, you know, yeah,accomplish so much more, right?
(24:16):
Yeah, that's, that's just how Ifeel. And so when I got a chance
to talk to kids, I mean, that's,you know, that just lights my
heart, and I just want to dowhatever I can to help.
I love it, because I think thelessons that you're teaching,
especially to our youth, thatwhen you can look beyond all of
the other BS that's out there,and there's a ton of it, right,
right, if you can just help themunderstand that, you know,
(24:38):
doesn't matter, you know, race,religion, you know, background
hit. You know experience. If youcan just look at another human
being and you can connect onthat, heart to heart, belly to
belly, kind of connection. Youreally do something significant.
You can you can change your yourperspective. You can change, you
know, you know, you can change alot in this world just by.
(25:00):
Treating people with, you know,respect and dignity, right?
Exactly. I
love that. I love that. What doyou think it's like the biggest
challenge, you know, as you lookat this next generation that's
coming up, and you're you'reobviously trying to, you know,
attract them to the Universityof Nebraska and eventually tie
that back into the employersthat will benefit from that
(25:22):
future workforce. But, you know,what? What do you think the
biggest challenges are betweencompanies today aligning with,
you know, the up and comingworkforce, you know, the way
that, you know, the generationalchange that's, you know, sort
of, you know, thrust upon usbecause of this, this different
kind of mindset in terms of theyouth movement, what, what do
(25:42):
you what do you see as thebiggest areas of opportunity or
the biggest challenges for themto, you know, to address or
overcome?
I think, you know, we kind ofhave, and I hate to say because
I know I sound over. I say this,but this little bit of a an
entitled, you know youth, right?You know where you know it back
(26:07):
in the day is, you know you workextremely hard, you put in the
all the hours, and you know,gradually you climb the ladder,
and that sometimes it takes timeto do that. Well, right or
wrong, you know, we have a youththat that's not what they cater
to, right? You know, they'retrying to latter fast, you know,
(26:28):
and then they may not have areally developed work ethic, you
know, type situation and and sohow can, you know, companies
still be able to attract thesekids and still be able to create
an environment, or workenvironment, that they can
thrive back. But also, you know,learn old cultures that are
(26:49):
older values that will allow thecompany to still grow, you know,
the way they want to, right? Andyou know, that's hard because,
you know, you're connected witha different with people who
have, you know, things that aredifferent, that are they have
different values, right? Youhave to find a way to commit
that. Then you have thischanging technology environment
(27:09):
that's changing all the time.How do you get them involved
with that, as well, the wholeremote work and going back to
work in office now, you have tobring all that in now. So I
don't envy, you know, some ofthese employers right now,
because it's, oh yeah, not a lotof fun. But you know, when it
comes down to it, you still haveto find a way to connect with
(27:30):
people. You still need thosepeople to be able to provide the
services that you're trying toprovide, you know, you know,
for, you know, businesses andcommunities and those type of
things and the you still need tobe able to, you know, figure out
a way to gain gainful, you know,work experience. So these, these
kind of have to find a way tocome together, right? And, yeah.
(27:54):
And, in my opinion, I thinkthat's a great opportunity for
both, because this worldcontinues to change. It
continues to Yeah. So, you know,as you have some of these people
who are kind of in the middle ofwho, you know, they recognize
the changes that are going on.They recognize the changes that
are happening in technology. Andthey're, they're gaining
(28:15):
leadership within theseorganizations. It allows them to
say, you know, here's the waythat you can connect with the
company. Allows them to go tothe company allows them to go to
the company and say, here's abetter way for you to connect
with these youth, so that we canfind this mesh to so that we can
all ties can rise, right? So, soI think that's, that's probably
the, in my opinion, you know,the tougher thing, because
that's a lot of things that youhear right now within industry,
(28:37):
is, you know, these kids don'twork as hard. Their expectations
sometimes are a little, youknow, higher than they should,
little off here than they shouldbe. But at the same time, you
know, it's better to havesomebody who feels like they can
accomplish the world, right?Yeah, and trying to, you know,
make that happen within, withinthe confines of your
(28:59):
environment, as opposed tosomebody who, you know, doesn't
want to work hard and won't,doesn't want to accomplish
anything, but, you know, so, soI thought, so, I think there was
some opportunity there for themto do that. But again, I don't,
yeah, well, you touched on atthe very beginning. Though, none
of that works unless you havethe ability to connect with one
(29:20):
another and find a way tocommunicate on each other's
level, right? And that's, that'skind of key, and I think that
you've got, you do have ageneration that's coming in with
loftier expectations, they alsoare, you know, oddly defining
their success, not necessarilyin a monetary or title role kind
of basis. It's in work that theyfind, you know, satisfying and
(29:43):
and that they feel like there isa purpose behind what they do.
And then you have organizationsthat are kind of like, Yeah,
well, this is kind of the waywe've always done it. And you
know that you got to come intothat situation with someone that
can basically help, you know,that conversation adapt, because
there is a meeting of the mind.That can happen if you're
forward thinking. I just think alot of companies, especially
(30:04):
right now, aren't that they'rethrowing the baby out with the
bath water without thinkingthrough like, how do I leverage
this and turn a negative into apositive, or maybe something
that maybe is maybe amisunderstanding or a miss set
of expectations? How do we levelset those so that we can both
find a way, path, you know, pathforward for success.
(30:24):
And I think, I think one thingthat's this that can really be a
really good opportunity is that,you know, these kids expect more
success. Well, that means theyneed to be more productive
quicker. And if they're doingthat, then they have, then they
have to prepare themselves inorder to be able to do that. And
then also, it puts it on thecompany to say, how can we make
these kids learn this faster,right? So that that change in
(30:46):
itself, because that's alwaysbeen a problem as well. Long
term is that, you know, youbring in somebody, whether it's
from college or from aninternship, and they're like,
well, it's taking them, youknow, two years to be
productive. How can we, youknow, make that shorter, right?
So it forces both sides of theequation to meet in the middle
and make that happen.
You can, you know, I'm going touse the analogy, because it's
(31:09):
one I know you're comfortablewith, and certainly I think a
lot of people out there wouldsee but you come from the
generation of football players.You went into the pros, and with
the Denver Broncos, won a SuperBowl, which is just phenomenal.
I think that's so awesome. Butthat's that was a that was a
time when players would bedrafted, and they would come and
(31:30):
they would sit behind a playerfor a year or two. They weren't
just thrust into the startingrole right away. And you see the
the difference between theculture of the NFL back then in
the mid 90s to where it istoday, where now they expect
these rookies to, like, hit theground running, and you're
talking about a completelydifferent culture or completely
(31:50):
different work environment, andthe speed of the game is
significant than what a lot ofcollege players are accustomed
to. So it's kind of aninteresting kind of analogy to
the work environment we have inthat things are the expectations
are higher, and the need forperformance is is almost
required quicker than it everhas been. Do you kind of see
(32:14):
that same kind of mindset now interms of the game as it kind of
overlays to the business world?
It's exactly like that. Now, asa matter of fact, college is
like that. Now that's true.Yeah, college wasn't like that
in the past. In the past, it wasmore like, you know what you
talked about it, we're goingdown there. And then, mind you,
let's say we have, you know, 15people coming in a recruiting
(32:37):
class. You've got one or two ofthose guys that may get a look
as a freshman, everybody else,they're either going to red
shirt or they're going to besitting on the bench waiting for
the next two years, developingtheir bodies, learning about the
playbook, or kind of bitingtheir time, so that once they
hit the field, they're ready toplay. That's not quite the case
anymore, right? Because of, youknow, transfer portal things,
(33:00):
you know, whatever the case maybe, they're expected to be ready
now. And so that's exactly howit is in kind of industry,
right? You know that they don't,they don't necessarily want to
wait as long. They want you tomake some significant strides,
you know, right, as you start.Or there's other people that you
know they can, they can find toactually take your place. And
so, and whether right or wrong,that's just kind of the way of
(33:24):
the world, you know. So that's,that's, that's a crazy
transition to have, especiallyfrom a football standpoint, you
need to, it does take some timeto kind of develop yourself,
but, but from an industrystandpoint, it is something that
you have to do because studiesof studies are starting to show
that, you know, people whochange jobs more frequently,
(33:45):
more often end up making moremoney long term. You know, in
order to be able to do that, youhave to show some proficiency to
do that as well. So you gotta becareful. So, so it's
interesting, what's going on onboth sides, but I'm here for it,
you know?
Yeah, absolutely. I saw astatistic the other day, because
I think you and I are separatedby just a few years, but when
(34:09):
our generation was coming up andgraduating college, you were
kind of expected to, like, maybea max, make five total job
changes in the in your entirecareer, because you would
probably have a 10 to 15 yearrun with a company or two, and
then, you know, some smallerstints with others. But for the
vast majority, it was prettyunheard of to have many more
(34:30):
jobs than that, let alonechanging industry. Whereas now
kids that are graduating fromthe University, let's say at 22
or 24 years old, they're comingout and they will have five to
eight jobs before they hit 30.It's like that, you know, you
think about that, and it's likein, in, like you said, with that
statistic, those that areactually changing their in a lot
(34:52):
of times they're changingbecause they're hiring up,
right? They're getting betterroles and leveling up their
career path. But that wholeshift. In the, you know, sort of
the direction in overall, youknow, sort of your career
longevity that I think we havethat's almost out the window
now, because, you know, I talkedto somebody. We were
interviewing for my softwarecompany. I interviewed somebody,
(35:14):
and she's probably, like, mid30s, and she's had like, 20 jobs
since she graduated. And youwould normally have looked at
them and like, Oh, my God, youcan't keep a job. But she had an
explanation for every single oneas to why it became a better
role and opportunity, or why shegot recruited from this one to
this one. But it was, like athree page resume, and it was
like, Oh, wow, right, but, butit was, it was just interesting.
(35:38):
And that's kind of the culturewe have now. It
is, and sometimes I'm not sure,like how I feel about it,
because I think there's there'stwo sides, there's one side of
it that's okay. I'm trying tomake sure that I can continue to
be successful and continue togrow. If that means that I'm at
a place only for a year, thenthat's the case. But I also I
(36:01):
still have a heart for you know,those individuals who you know
are loyal to companies that givethem an opportunity, who you
know are loyal to, you know,good atmospheres and cultures
and what type of things and andit kind of reminds me of, you
know, how things are changinglittle bit in college football
back in the day, you kind ofplay for the you know, the name
(36:21):
on the front of your jersey, andnow everything is on the back
right, and that's, you know,there's some What
do you think about that I'mreally curious about? I don't
know.
It's really such a catch 22because if I'm not playing, and
I'll say this for my team, in myopinion, if we're not playing
(36:43):
for the name for the Nebraskaprogram, for that tradition,
we're not winning thatchampionship like we're not
winning I don't I think it'sreally hard to come together and
accomplish something big whenit's all about individualistic
type things. Yeah, you know whatI mean. And so I think that's
that's going to take away quitea bit from, you know, the
(37:03):
loyalty and traditions ofcollege football in itself. And
I hate to say, I think it might,you know, lower a little bit of
the product, you know, that'sbeing put out right there, you
know. So, so I don't like that,but at the same time, like I do
understand, especially when youyou come from nothing, and now
you have a chance to, you know,play for university and actually
(37:24):
make money. Now, I mean, I, youknow, I can't fault the kid for,
you know, trying to make somefinance to, you know, help
himself and his family rightaway, because nobody's
guaranteed to, you know, havethose opportunities long term,
right? And so, but I, but Iagain, I feel the same as far as
the corporate world, because youknow you're taking care of you,
you're taking care of yourfamily, and if you're doing
(37:46):
things that are going to set youup long term to be able to
accomplish your dreams, then Ican't fault people for doing
that.
Yeah, yeah. Well, you when youwent into the NFL. What was it
that most surprised you aboutyou got drafted by the Denver
Broncos, and you went from onegreat coach to what I got to
(38:06):
think is probably another greatcoach, with Mike Shanahan at the
time, and he had, I mean,you're, you're on a team with
John Elway, with, you know, theguy that just exudes leadership.
What was that like coming into aprogram like that after, I mean,
you had to be, you know, youknow, hot stuff coming in,
because you were coming off oftwo national championships. I
mean, highly touted rookie. Imean, they probably, they were
(38:28):
probably really excited to haveyou join the program. But what
was the difference when you wentfrom, you know, college to the
pros? What did that feel like
about a totem board? Again?That's what it felt. Again,
that's what it felt. You know, Iwent there and, you know, I
wasn't
those national championshipsdidn't get you out of rookie
(38:49):
hazing or anything. No, none ofthat.
Mind you. Mind you? I'm going toColorado, right? You know, they
don't have grass. Yeah, that'sright, I'll tell you. I do
remember when we had, when wehad won our Super Bowl
Championship. We had one of thecelebrations at the owners
(39:11):
house, Pat Bowden's house, yeah,we went in there. And for some
reason, I just thought I wasgonna show off a little bit,
because we had a couple ofColorado guys and they had their
rings on. So I thought, I'mgonna go ahead, let me go ahead
and put my five rings on, myseven rings on, and just bling
it out a little bit. These guys,they didn't appreciate that.
(39:31):
But, yeah, funny. But no, itwas, it was, it was a great
time. You know? What wasdifferent was just the speed of
a game and the fact that, whenyou're playing in college, you
know, your marginal era can, youknow, be this big and you can
still be successful, you canstill, you know, make plays and
(39:52):
have a chance to go to the nextlevel in the league, your margin
era is this small, you know, isthis you. All and the game, you
really learned that the game isso much more mental than it is
physical when you get to thatlevel, you know, because
everybody's a good athlete, youknow, everybody was a baller
back in the day. But it's reallyabout, you know, number one, can
(40:14):
I learn the playbook? I have tolearn the playbook, but in the
back of my hand. Number two, canI deal with their everyday ups
and downs, you know, I'm goingto get yelled at by coaches. I'm
going to be going up againstpeople who are, you know,
eventual Hall of Famers. This,this may not go as fast as I
wanted to go, and I had neverreally been that much of a bench
(40:34):
warm record. Do I can I, youknow, be comfortable with doing
that while I'm, you know, tryingto get on the field? And it's
just a lot of uncertainty. And,you know, not having that, that
job stability like that can wearon you, like, you know, it can
wear you so, so it was, it was alot more mental than anything
else. But, you know, when itcame down to it, the same
(40:57):
process that got me, you know,on the field of Nebraska was the
same thing that, you know,helped me there, you know, was
just like, trust the process,work your butt off, be
coachable, be a good teammate,you know, believe in yourself,
all those other things. And thenwhat helped me even more was I'm
in a, I'm in a locker room with,you know, again, Hall of Fame
guys. But their egos were cool,like John is the John was cool.
(41:21):
He got along with everybody, youknow, I'm there with Shannon
sharp, and you see Shannon sharpnow he's blown up. He's big, and
he taught me the same way he is,you know. Now that's the same
way he was back there. He talkeda lot of crap, but he was just
cool, you know, he was, he was,he was just cool. And so the
locker room was, was cool. And Iwas behind Steve Atwater, who
was the consummate man. Youknow, California, great, great
(41:45):
guy. You know, he wasn't, youknow, he was trying to help me,
even though I'm trying to takehis position at some point, he's
still trying to help me. So wehad that type of environment,
and it made it great beingthere.
Yeah, I mean that those twoyears when they got the Super
Bowls, I mean, those were, like,you know, it was finally get the
monkey off of, always backright, and win it. And then
(42:05):
just, you could see that teamwas ready to, you know, take the
next step. But even though, youknow, obviously, with Elway
retiring after the second one, Ithink in 98 you know, it's like,
you know, he had done everythinghe needed to do. But you could
just, you could sense thecamaraderie on that squad
without question, you know, tobeat, you know, Holmgren and far
(42:26):
in the Super Bowl, it doesn'tget any better than that, right?
Exactly, exactly that was, thatwas a great way to end it. And,
you know, we were underdogs. Youknow, I think it was 14 point
underdogs or something. Yeah,yeah, we're in the Super Bowl,
like, really 14. So to be thereand then, you know, to cause a
(42:46):
fumble, and to play like it, tohave a little bit of an impact
on the game that was, that wasreally amazing.
Not a little you met, you had alarge impact on that game. So I
think if anybody goes and checksout your highlight reel on
YouTube and just sees the thethe hits that you made. I would
not have ever wanted to be onthe field with you. Ever
(43:07):
appreciate it, man, I appreciatethat.
I was telling I was tellingpeople in your intro like you
still look like you could go outthere and play. Do you miss the
game? You know? Yeah, being asin good shape as you are right
now. You know
what? I don't miss the game thatmuch because I'm, you know, I'm,
you know, 51 now, well,actually, 52 tomorrow, which is
(43:27):
crazy. Happy birthday. Iappreciate that. Appreciate
that. So I don't have thesedelusions that I could still
play the game anymore. So I'mnot, I'm not worried about that,
but I do miss, I really missbeing athletic. I remember,
yeah, it's just being able toget up and run. And the other
thing was, the biggest thing, Imissed camaraderie, like you
missed the guys, yeah, you knowthat's, that's, that's really
(43:50):
what you miss. So
when I noticed for a while youwere in into coaching, was that
not a path that you reallywanted to explore going forward?
Or,
yeah, so I did coaching. Icoached from, I think it was oh
three or oh four to like 12, ifI'm not mistaken, I coached for
(44:10):
a similar pro team here withOmaha beef for about eight
years, and then I did four yearsin high school ball, and then I
got involved with a group calledWarren Academy, where we provide
position specific training forguys that are trying to go to
the next level in football. So Istill do that. So that gives me
my football fix the training.And then we also do 707, things,
(44:34):
which is really cool. So, sothat's, that's an essence, how I
kind of stay around football.And I figured, you know, if I
played, it would be stupid forme to completely walk away and
not, you know, try to pass thisknowledge on to some of the kids
that are actually out there.But, but, yeah, I still do that.
Still fun. Matter of fact, wehad a 707 tournament out in
Kansas City this past weekend,and, you know, our top team won
(44:54):
the tournament. So, you know,Oh, awesome. Myself on the back
there. Yeah. Thank you.Appreciate. It, but, but, no,
it's amazing. Where we're, youknow, we're at this point where
even Nebraska and some of theother colleges are paying
attention to the talent thatwe're that we're helping to
produce and and so, yeah, if Ican help some of these kids get
to college and, you know, getscholarships and possible new
(45:17):
money, man, that's That'samazing. That's what it's all
about.
That's great. I mean, talk abouta positive ripple you're
creating for so many out there.That's awesome. Well, I could
talk to you all day. I want tobe respectful of your time. I
always like to finish theseinterviews up with a few ripple
connection questions. If you'recool with it, no problem. What
is? What is one lesson that youlearned in football that you use
(45:39):
to this day in your businesslife.
Lesson that I learned infootball is really to conquer
adversity like, that's, that's,that's really what it comes down
to conquero adversity. I, youknow, I never knew who I was
going to necessarily, never hadcontrol of who I was going to be
lined up against, right? But thegoal was always going to still
(46:01):
be the same. And everybody canhave excuses for why you don't
accomplish that goal. You caneither let the situation, you
know, control you, or you cancreate your own fate, you know.
And so that that particular, youknow, piece of it, for me, has
always resonated. And a lot oftimes when I go talk to kids,
it's always about, you know,here's the goal. You got to
(46:22):
figure out a way to make itthere. And so that's what,
that's what I tell
them, I love it. I love it. Whatdid the seven year old Tony want
to be when he grew
up? That's probably, honestly,probably an NFL player, you
know? Okay, I don't remember anyother occupation, and I just
(46:45):
remember, like, at that time, Ididn't really watch college
football as much, and so the waythat I really, you know, bonded
with my uncles and my dad andeverybody. We were watching NFL
football, you know. And soluckily for me, it came true,
what was your team growing upthat you rooted for? So
I had a couple of teams backthen, and for some reason I
(47:08):
like, so I like Detroit and Ilike, just because I used to
like the blue and silver when Iwas a kid. I just like the
COVID. But I also love, likeBilly Sims and Barry Sanders and
those are my guys. I like thebears back then too. So just,
you know, Walter, Payton, Barry,Sanders, or, like, you know,
two, two of my biggest idols asa kid, like, you know, had to
(47:32):
like the bears and Detroit, eventhough they were in the same
conference of fighting eachother.
That's like room for the Yankeesin the Red Sox.
Little bit. So if
you weren't doing what you'redoing now, what would you be
doing for a career? If you couldchoose any career path?
(47:54):
That's a good question. I thinkI would probably still be in the
philanthropy area. You know, Ilove just being able to, you
know, help people and give back.And, you know, if I would love
to be, you know, that person onthe other side of kind of what I
do, right? You know, if I was,you know, extremely, you know,
(48:15):
successful, and I'm able to, youknow, bless people all over the
world, like I would love, youknow, to be able to do with
that, because I think there areso many people and causes that
are doing amazing things, butthey don't have the resources
to, you know, truly fulfilltheir mission, and I would love
to be able to provide that forthem.
I love that. That's great. Ifyou could put up a message on a
(48:35):
billboard that every kid youknow would have to see on the
way to school or on the wayhome, or anybody going to work
coming home, what bit ofinspiration, or what message
would you put on
that billboard, something alongthe lines of, you're never
alone, like you don't have to doanything by yourself, right? I
(48:57):
think that's one thing that,especially coming from, you
know, the whole COVID thingwhere, you know, people were
isolated, they couldn't talk topeople, and then how it really
affected people. I think peoplejust need to take that, that
perception and that belief longterm, that that we're here to
help each other, right? And thenif I have a huge goal, I don't
(49:19):
need to do that by myself, reachout to people, because there's
so many people out here that arewilling to help you, even if
they don't really know how theyknow how to, they want to
connect you to somebody to helpyou accomplish whatever goal it
is on some amazing team, someamazing, you know, football
teams and and work teams. Andwhen it's all said and done,
(49:39):
when you're around people whocare, anything is possible,
right? Anything is possible. Andso when I talk to kids, a lot of
times, I'm like, create your ownteam, right? Find a team. You
know, get a mentor, you know, ateacher, get a friend, get a
coach, all those people that cansow into your life, and I help
you accomplish your goal. So, sojust let them know you're not
(50:02):
alone. Create your own team, andanything can be possible. I
love that. So just out ofcuriosity, is there any one
person that sticks out to youthat was sort of stepped up to
be part of your team, to helpyou become the person that you
are, that you know, just reallyyou know, when you think about
made an indelible mark on yourlife, is there one person that
(50:22):
stands out to you
besides coach Osborne? I wouldprobably say Coach Lonnie tap.
That was my high school footballcoach, and the reason for that
was, you know, I was No, he's afootball coach, but I will see
him, you know, going to getkids, to pick them up, to go to
school, to take them home. Hehad players that were actually
(50:44):
living with them, because theyactually needed it, you know, we
were, we were at a high schoolwhere, you know, we won, you
know, two games my freshmanyear, two games my sophomore
year, you know. So we weren't ateam that was was doing well. He
had been working there for a lotof years, and he took a lot of
flack, but he didn't care,because he was about the growth
of those kids, right, aboutthose kids, and so when I see
(51:07):
that, and he was just, you know,he was, he was all bought in and
he believed in me, but he wasjust a great man, and I, and I
just took from that, and I'mlike, Well, if I have a chance
to to give Beth a community inany way, I'm going to do That
because
of him. I love that is he stillcoaching? Yeah,
no. Well, he stopped coachingtwo years ago. He was with
(51:29):
Benson, and then he left, andthen he was coaching for North
for a number of years. So it'scrazy, because I just heard
today he's actually getting, Ithink he's getting inducted into
the Benson Hall of Fame. Oh,wow, for his career, and that's
going to happen in April of thisyear. So very fitting. I will
definitely be to support
him. That's awesome. That'sreally cool. Well, my last
(51:52):
couple of questions, when youhear the word the ripple effect
or the phrase the ripple effect,what does that conjure up for
you?
That that creates no goodfeelings within me, because
that's, that's how I feel.That's why, in essence, I am the
way I am. Because I feel like,even if you're not around
(52:13):
somebody for a long time, you'regonna always have a huge, huge
influence, right? You know thatthat, that ripple effect is
real, like I this is how I likein my life. I'm also involved
with teammates mentoringprogram, because I want people
to know that there are peoplewho care about you, and as they
see you doing good work, youknow, hopefully that could work
(52:36):
well off on that person. Theytake it to their friends, and it
just creates this, this, this,this, this pool of good energy
and good will and vibes that arefloating throughout the
throughout the world. And so,you know, I've always been a
person that just paid attentionto, you know, the good things
that people are doing. And Ithink that there's just such
(52:59):
power, you know, in goodwill, inthe good work, you know, so when
you when, when I met youinitially, and you had this
thing, I was like, Man, I shouldhave came up with
that just makes sense. Man, itjust makes sense.
I love that. I love that. Well,my last question would be, what
(53:20):
ripples could I be looking tocreate for you?
Oh, that's a good question. Iwould just say, if you have you
know individuals who you knownumber one from a you know,
engineering standpoint, ifthey're looking for ways to get
into the engineering field orinformation about you, and now
placing them my way the otherOkay, is, if you have young
(53:43):
athletes who are in football or,you know, trying to get to the
next level, and, you know, maywant some training, you know,
send them my way for one Academyagain. This is, this isn't
anything about me. This isabout, you know, trying to get
them to be the best version ofthemselves, you know. And if I
can help, I would love to dothat.
You bet I will definitely sendany and all your direction. For
(54:04):
sure, I lied. There was one lastquestion. What's the best way
for people to follow you, or howdo you want them to, you know,
you know, just keep up with whatyou're up to. Is there a social
handle or LinkedIn that youprefer
I am on LinkedIn so they canlook at me up just by my name.
I'm also on Facebook. Those areprobably the easiest ways to
(54:29):
stay involved with me. I have anInstagram, honey, but I can't
remember what I would say to putit
up as a link or something. So,yeah, yeah, no,
LinkedIn is the best way toreach out to me. And I wouldn't
give my I could give you myemail as well to share if you
(54:50):
want to do that too, butLinkedIn will probably be the
best way. Okay, yeah, we'll justput your LinkedIn profile up on
the show notes, just so peoplehave it and they can follow you
that way. You know, wedefinitely. I can't begin to
thank you enough for how youknow, for you participating
today, I have really beenlooking forward to this for a
long time, and not just becauseyou know you are two time
(55:10):
national champion and Super Bowlchampion, but because you're a
good guy, you are making adifference out there in the
world, and that's what I reallywant to highlight and profile,
really for all of our guestshere, and I appreciate all the
ripples that you're creating,not only for you know, the
University of Nebraska, but forthe youth that you're, you know,
committed to helping, not onlydown the college path, but also
in what you're doing for helpingthose college or those you know,
(55:33):
potential college bound athletesreally understand what it's
going to take to be successfulat that next level. You're,
you're doing some great work, myfriend, I appreciate it.
Well, I appreciate it. And youmake sure you, you know, you
keep this podcast going. And Ithink it'll just keep this
stream going. I think it'samazing work that you're doing,
and to chance to be able to, youknow, share the stories and
inspiration of all these peoplethat are actually out there. I
(55:55):
mean, you're going to make somereally positive things happen.
So, so I appreciate it. Well,
I appreciate that. If, you everwant to introduce me to your ex
football coach, I'm all, I'mdown. That's somebody I
definitely need to know forsure. But I just appreciate you
so much, guys. We'll be backwith another episode of the
ripple effect podcast very soon,but be sure to follow Tony.
We'll have the links in the shownotes, but Tony, until next
(56:17):
time. Thank you so much, andripple on. You.
Guys, you know why I love doingthis show? It's because I get to
(00:03):
meet so many amazing people. Andtoday's guest is no exception.
He is a two time nationalchampion for the Nebraska
Cornhusker football program anda Super Bowl champion for the
Denver Broncos. I am talkingabout Tony VLAN. Tony veeland,
the director of development forthe University of Nebraska
Foundation, is an OMAfoundation. Is an Omaha native
(00:23):
who is known for his pastaccomplishments in the sports
arena as a former NebraskaCornhusker in Denver Bronco as a
two time national champion and aSuper Bowl champion. He's
experienced success at thehighest levels, and he loves to
use his platform to encouragethe next generation to be
successful in life beyond theareas of athletics, he's also an
advocate for the community, ashe serves on numerous nonprofit
(00:46):
boards trying to impactpositive, lasting change for
those in his community. Firsttime I've ever had a national
champion and a Super Bowlchampion on the show. I am
stoked. I met Tony a few yearsback. We actually sat on a panel
for a tech conference where wewere getting to impart a little
bit of wisdom to some of thehigh schoolers that were in
(01:06):
attendance for that conferenceabout technology and tech as a
potential career path, whatbusiness ownership and
entrepreneurship opened as faras opportunities. It was such a
blast, but I really was justenamored with Tony. He has one
of the most approachablepersonality. He's one of the
nicest guys, no ego whatsoever,and just an all around great
(01:26):
individual to be around. So I'mso grateful that we finally put
this together where we could gethim on the ripple effect
podcast, because I've got somany questions, I'm a little bit
nervous. I mean, he is achampion on the highest order,
and I'm just so grateful that heis spending a little bit of time
with us to dig in, do a littlerippling. So with no further
ado, let's get into conversationwith Tony VLAN.
(02:02):
You well,
Tony, welcome to the rippleeffect podcast. How you doing
today? I'm doing really good,man. It's really good to see
you. How are things with you?
It's good to see you, and thingsare going great. It's been, I
can't believe you look up andit's almost been two years since
we saw each other at the HCCconference. So it looks like
(02:23):
you've had some changes sincethe last time I saw you, too.
Huh? I
did. I did. No longer with theaim Institute. I made a move to
the University of NebraskaFoundation. So still in the
education area, focusing onraising funds for the College of
Engineering, so still staying inthat stem area, but kind of
(02:44):
going back home to my almamater.
I love that. What? What was itthat prompted you to go back and
do this kind of work?
Well, to be honest, which I itwasn't like, it's something I
was looking for. You know, mysupervisor ended up, and they
were looking for someone in thedirectors field and then
development field. And I thinkjust because I I'd been in this
(03:05):
area, I was a former, you know,engineering grad, you know, when
I was an alum. So obviously Ifeel extremely strongly about,
you know, what's going on downthere. I think it just kind of
made a match. And so they camelooking, and wasn't necessarily
looking to leave, but they, youknow, gave a pretty good pitch.
And I was like, let's make thismove. That's awesome.
(03:25):
So can you give us a little kindof an idea of what you do day to
day in terms of your currentwork responsibilities?
Yeah. So I'm the director ofdevelopment for the College of
Engineering for the foundation,and so in essence, what we're
trying to do is meet with formeralumni and former supporters to
continue their support. We'retrying to get, you know, more
(03:48):
people to get into this field.We're trying to make it cheaper
for students to get there byproviding for scholarships, and
we're also trying to provideaccess. So the same thing that I
was doing at AIM was trying toget people to the STEM fields,
I'm assuming here, butspecifically for engineering.
And you know, we have a lot ofsupport for Nebraska in general.
(04:10):
There's a lot of support for thethe field of engineering, just
because it has such an impact oneconomic development in this
area. Also, it's been a greatmove, and I've had a chance to
meet quite a few people withinthe industry, just because of
it.
I love that. Well, when you andI met at the HDC conference, you
(04:31):
know I was, that was my firsttime to Omaha, and it was, I was
completely blown away by theamount of enthusiasm and
momentum that's happening inNebraska, in the technology air
arena. Can you share a littlebit about what you've seen, how
that's evolved over the lastcouple of years, and maybe
what's got you most excited asyou as you're navigating into
(04:53):
this new role?
Well, it's been interesting. Youknow, I'll say, even though I
was. An engineering grad. I wasnever really in the tech field,
or really, really used mydegree. But, you know, being in
this particular field, I mean,you understand that. You just,
you know, look at everyday, nothings that are going on.
(05:16):
Technology is moving fast,right? It's moving extremely
fast. And we can either get onboard or we're going to get, you
know, passed up or run by,right? And so I've kind of seen
this moment, which is one of thereasons that I joined aim in the
first place, you know, sevenyears ago, because I saw, you
know, an area where you know, ifyou aren't getting involved, you
(05:38):
know, you want to be leftbehind. And obviously I've
always been a big proponent of,you know, community first, and
trying to make sure that thepeople who are around me had
opportunities to be successfuland and I think I share this
with you in the passion and mybackground has always been
sports, you know, so having thefootball background, I can go to
talk to kids, and I'm blowingthe face about, you know,
(05:59):
practice, sales and working hardand doing all that stuff. But
you know, what it kind of camedown to for me was that I felt
like I was only talking to aselect few students, because
there's only a few kids who weregoing to be able to get
scholarships, or maybe, youknow, one or two out of 1000
kids that I, you know, wouldtalk to, would go to the NFL,
right? But everybody can beaffected by tech. You know, kids
are playing video games. Theygot their cell phones out. They
(06:21):
got the social media stuff. Youknow, people know, people are
starting all kinds of businessesnow from the internet, so I felt
this would be a better way tokind of reach kids and give them
an opportunity to be successful.And so, you know, that's the
reason why I jumped in. But youknow, the thing is, you know,
that is really affectingeverything, right? And companies
are becoming more technical.They're understanding that if
(06:42):
they don't have kids or youththat have those types of skills,
and that they're not going tobe, you know, proficient long
term. So it's just been kind ofa movement, you know, over this
last especially after COVID,it's just been really kind of a
movement, and people are reallymaking moves towards it. And so,
you know, I saw the excitementwith that, and I wanted to be a
part of it. Because, again, Iwant to allow my community to
(07:06):
rise, and if I can open doorsand create more access to them
being successful long term,that's what I wanted
to do. Let's go back a littlebit. So what was it about
engineering when you were cominginto your, you know, your
college years, that that waskind of the area that you
decided to focus on. Obviously,you know, we're going to touch
on your sports background,because it's very, very
(07:26):
impressive. But, you know,obviously, from an education
perspective, that's a prettythat's a pretty hard track to
tackle. So what was it that ledyou down that path? You
know? But it is, I think whatstarted it was, I was, I was
good in science and math. Ithink that's kind of what
started. And then I was involvedin this group that was called
mccasa When I was in highschool. And I can't remember
(07:49):
what the actual acronym stoodfor, but it was something, you
know, minorities and engineeringtype situation. And so we met a
few times, and some of thethings that they were doing were
interesting. And then we went,we took a tour down the K State,
and I got in front of a numberof professors, and they were
kind of just talking about thethings that were happening. Then
I remember being this, you know,this, this robotics club type
(08:13):
thing, and so, so I was justexcited. I was like, okay, yeah,
this, this makes sense, youknow, I think I can see myself
doing this long term. And I knewit wasn't something that was
that was easy. But, you know, Iwasn't about taking the easy
path at that particular time.And I was trying to make sure
that, you know, I was doingsomething that would be
beneficial society long term,something that I could grow from
(08:35):
and learn from. And you know,that was, that's just, just what
I was about. So I decided tojump in with with both feet and
and I got down to college, and Iwas like, Okay, I understand the
struggle. Now it's, the struggleis real, and there was no lie,
right? The struggle is real. Andit was, it was a challenge. It
(08:59):
was, it was a big challenge,because playing football, you
only have so much time today,right? Yeah, for classes, and
half your day is, is almost afootball and so I'm not with
with the rank and file, as faras getting tutors and and having
study sessions, you know, therewas about maybe five or six of
(09:19):
us that was in the footballdepartment that were actually
doing engineering things aswell, and some of those were in
different parts of engineering.So, you know, only two of those
that I could actually go withand ask questions for so that
made it kind of difficult aswell, but I still wanted to do
it in and I did it, and I got inthere for about three years
before I decided to one, butthat I wanted to change and do
(09:39):
something a little bitdifferent. I got three years
into engineering, and then Iengineering, and then I did a
discipline of business. So Igraduated within the
interdisciplinary degree, and itworked out well. Even though I
didn't I never used myengineering degree formally, it
actually worked out well
for me. Ah, I mean, what? Sothe. Area of interest for you,
(10:02):
that kind of stoke thatcuriosity and that fire, even
though you know you sort of madethe shift towards the end. How
does that inform how you youwork with people that are maybe
considering technology as adirection for their career path
now, or trying to incentivizepeople to want to come to the
University of Nebraska now tolearn about the great programs
they have. Can you take some ofthat and apply that to amp up
(10:23):
people's excitement for theirown, you know, their own journey
ahead? Well,
when it comes down to it, I justtalk about the opportunity.
Yeah, there's a huge shortageof, you know, people in those
fields, especially in thisparticular area. You know, we
need for my mistake and thenumbers we were trying to
create, like five or 10,000 moreengineers in this area, in this
(10:47):
local, specific right? And we'refortunate to have some really
good engineering firms andconstruction management firms
that really believewholeheartedly and bringing
along people within the state,right? And so, you know, case in
point you gotta, you gotta keepwith that does a lot of hiring
from you have an HDR, you know,companies like that, who who
(11:08):
really want to provideopportunities for people here to
learn and and build and grow andgive back to the community that
they that they actually wereraised in. And so when you have
that kind of support and youhave the opportunity, Why not
marry the two, right? Plusyou're staying, of course, and
you're building your community,you're building the businesses.
So it just creates kind of thiswin, win scenario. And so I'm
(11:31):
not trying to ever, you know,force anybody to do something
that they don't want to do, butI do want to let them know that
there, if there's a greatopportunity in an industry that
is stable, that is growing, whynot look at that industry,
especially when it's beingsupported by local industries?
Absolutely
and just just the numbers thatyou just shared. I mean, that's
a significant potential jobopportunity for that area. What
(11:53):
can you what can you tell usabout just Nebraska and the
movement that's happening tocapture more of those large
institutional type owners thatare focused on bringing tech to,
you know, the Midwest.
Well. I mean, I think if you canjust look at, you know, kind of
the history of what's been goingon probably the last decade. I
mean, you've got companies like,you know, Facebook versus meta,
(12:14):
you know, Amazon, you know,PayPal, you've got companies who
are moving here, and they'removing here for a reason, right?
I mean, it's better from aneconomic standpoint. You have,
you know, the work ethic hereyou're in the city, so it makes
it easy to travel nationally andthat type of thing. So it's and
we're getting a lot moreattention and notoriety, you
(12:38):
know, for, you know, cost ofliving, you know, the however
things are going here. And so,if you really paid attention,
there's been a huge move towardsthis, towards the Midwest,
right? And we're kind of chargedwith that, right? And so, and if
you're seeing that, and you're aworker, you're like, Okay,
something is going on aboutOmaha that I might not have
known in the past. Yeah, yeah. Ishould think about this, you
know, the other part of it is,you know, you have somebody that
(13:01):
might be in New York, maybe inFlorida, might be in Texas.
Well, their cost of livings arepretty high. Your dollar can go
a heck of a loss. Yeah, yep, insome of those places there. And
so again, I think it justcreates, you know, a great
opportunity to take advantage ofa growing field, and also being
(13:26):
a place where I think that goodlife moniker is actually real.
You said about Midwesternpeople, Midwestern values, and I
think people would relish thatbeing a part of
that. Well, I have to say I getto travel around all over the
country, and being in Omaha forabout two and a half days, I
(13:47):
have to say those were thenicest people. The entire
community was just so great, andthe event was fantastic. But
even the side conversations forfolks that I knew had not grown
up in Omaha, I, you know, Iasked him, Why, why do you stay?
Why do you like it? Andeverybody talks about, you know,
the family field. It's a greatplace to raise a family. It's a
(14:09):
great place to build yourcommunity. And, you know, folks
are like, you know, I can't seemyself, you know, having now
experienced this going anywhereelse, because it's just such a
welcoming, commit community. Andno matter what you're trying to
accomplish or what you want todo for your career, it's just a
good spot to do it and trust
and trust me, it just, it justgrows on people. Like, I always
(14:30):
go back to my football days myfirst year here, you've got all
these guys that are from, youknow, California and Texas and
Florida, and they hate it here.They like, like, Why did I make
this is the dumbest move thatI've ever done, but I'll tell
you to a T by the time wegraduated, I'm gonna say
(14:52):
probably 80% of those peoplestayed right, because it just,
it just grew on them, right? Itwas just a lot that, you know,
I. Okay, I love my love home,but I'm gonna stay here. I'm
gonna make this my new home. AndI think it just grows on anybody
that comes here. It's just, it'skind of a hidden gem that you
realize once you spend some timehere.
I love that and but you grew upin Nebraska, right? So was that?
(15:13):
So did you always know that youwanted to go to the University
of Nebraska, or were youconsidering other programs? Or,
I know I didn't know thatinitially, okay, you know, I I
really wanted to go to Stanford.I also thought about going to
Colorado. I know that's kind ofcrazy to say. At that particular
(15:36):
time, you know, I had gotten acouple of letters from them, and
there was some interest thereand then. And I had some
interest some other places,well. But I really wasn't
thinking about Nebraska, becauseI wasn't like, a like, I would
watch football, like, as a kid,watch as well. And my dad was an
avid Oklahoma fan, you know. So,you know, back in the day the
(15:59):
Oklahoma in Nebraska rivalry, wehad that big game going on as
big Yeah, yes, he was in. My dadwas always like, Boomer Sooner.
And under my breath, I'm like,Go Big Red. You know that it was
kind of that, that flavor. But Ididn't find out. I didn't
realize that I really wanted togo until I went to a football
camp my junior year. I went downthere, and it was the first time
(16:23):
I had actually, you know,performed against kids out of
state. It was the first time I'dever really been at a football
camp. I did, you know, prettywell. And I it was just a great
feel. I got offered, you know,that particular time, and I was
just like, you know, these guysare winning, you know, nine to
10 games every single year. It'sat home, it's close. My mom and
(16:45):
dad could come here. It would bestupid not to go here. Yeah, so,
and it turned out that that was,honestly, that was probably one
of the best decisions that I'veever
made. So you were there, so youwon two national championships,
which, congratulations, that'sso freaking awesome. Was those
were with Tom Tom Osborne asyour coach, right? Yeah. So what
(17:05):
can you tell us a little bitabout what that was like to be
coached by him? I mean, he's,he's a legendary football coach,
for sure.
Well, it was amazing, like, forme, it was, it was amazing. He
was just one of those guys wherehe just had this presence about
him, this aura, you know, andit's kind of hard to describe
you, don't. I had never met him,you know, before he come into,
(17:28):
you know, pretty much my livingroom, and he's trying to, you
know, get me to come down there,but it's like he walks in and
you're just like, I can trustthis guy. You know, it's just
something about him. I could, Ican trust him and, and he's just
one of those people that I don'tthink that I could have had a
coach have a stronger impact onme during my life, at that
(17:50):
particular time. You know, to beable to go down there and have
somewhat of a father figure, andsomeone who, you know his name
from a football standpoint,speaks for itself. But I think
body that is around himunderstands that his integrity,
his character, all that state,is far and above greater than
(18:11):
what he's accomplished atfootball. You know, when nothing
happens to coach Osborne, thisstate will probably shut down
for for a while, because he hasthat type of impact, but, but he
was just great because he caredmore about the man than he did
about the football player. Andyou know how he ran the program,
it was evident and him havingcoaches that had been there, you
(18:33):
know, 20 years plus, theyweren't making crazy money, but
everybody was completely boughtinto the program. And it says a
lot when you can have a man takeover a program, and like doing
this program again, we'rewinning, you know, 1011, 12
games. 1011, games, almost everyyear. We're in the conference
(18:53):
championship, you know, almostor the visit championship,
almost every year. But you canstill rally people enough to say
that's not enough, like we'vegot to be like, we've got to go
for that higher level. And so,you know, he was able to do
that. And you know, I, I wasjust completely and totally
blessed just to be around him,you know, from the time that I
(19:15):
was is
there, you know, a lesson or apiece of advice that he gave you
that resonates in sort of helpsguide how you lead today in your
own right.
I just think you know when it'sall said and done, he was just
about the man being more aboutthe man, and also given second
chances. I think if anythingstands out more than Well,
(19:37):
there's two things to me thatstand out. Number one is that,
you know, he cares so much thathe remembers all the details
about people. You know, he'shad, I don't know how many
hundreds of football players. Ican't tell you one time that
I've ever been around a playerwhere he didn't know the
player's name, he didn't knowthe players, the mother's name,
a brother or sister, using someintegral detail about. Them,
(20:00):
right? That just says a lotabout who you are. The other
thing is, I always go back to,you know, there were always, you
know, a few out the field issuesthat were going on within the
place, right? And it will bevery easy for him to, you know,
just, you know, kick a personout the program, not bring any,
you know, craziness to him or,you know, but he wasn't like
(20:21):
that. He was about secondchances all the time. He was
about, I'm here to help kids andtry to make them grow, try to
make them become better people.And I will always, you know,
more than anything else, alwaysremember him more for, you know,
how he handled, you know, theonce fill situation and Scotty
Baldwin situation. Because, youknow, he was like, Okay, I may
(20:41):
take it on the chin for this,but I'm going to do what I can
to try to give them the bestopportunity at a successful life
after football. And so thatalways stood out for me.
I have a good friend when heleft Nebraska, you know, he did,
had a small stint at OhioUniversity, right? His coach,
you know, was advising, I thinkended up becoming their athletic
(21:02):
director. I may be wrong on thatpart, but the person that I know
here in Austin that was actuallyresponsible for the alumni that
went to seek him out and try toget him to come over as to their
program, they made that samecomment when they talked to him.
It was amazing how much time andenergy he had put in to get to
know everybody he was meetingwith get the background in
(21:22):
history and then why they werepassionate about their program,
right? What was it about theiruniversity that they were
excited about? And rather thanthem interviewing him, it almost
felt like the opposite, right?He was really trying to get them
to help him understand why theywould care, why it was important
to them for him to maybeconsider it as a program. And so
(21:44):
I had mentioned that I was goingto be interviewing one of his
former players, and she justsaid, it's almost exact, like
you did one of the nicest guysthat you had just carried
himself had a presence that wasreally so significant, exactly.
Yeah, that's awesome. Well, youhave that presence too. Let me
tell you my man. I was telling,you know, your intro, like
you're when we're on that panel.I was just so, so enamored, not
(22:08):
because it would be easy to kindof be a fanboy, right? Because
you're a two time nationalchampion, you won a Super Bowl.
You have this aura as thisprofessional athlete. But the
thing that I looked at was notany of that, although I'm very,
very impressed with that, andwe'll dig into that a little bit
more, but at the end of the day,you were just one of the nicest,
most grounded individuals that Icould possibly ever hope to
(22:30):
meet. We only talked for alittle bit, but I liked how I
watched you interact with almosteverybody, but especially the
kids that had questions, youknow, after our panel that came
up and talked to you, and justhow you made the time for them,
and just got down on theirlevel, and you could see
stimulated them to think aboutwhere they could go and what the
(22:50):
possibilities out there were,which is an absolute gift. Well,
I
appreciate that. I appreciatethat. But it's, it's all because
I remember being those kids.Yeah, yep, I know. I come from a
neighborhood where, seemingly,it doesn't just seem like
there's a lot of opportunity outof right? And so, you know,
(23:11):
there were times when, you know,maybe I felt like, like, I don't
know what my future looks like,you know, I don't see a lot of
positivity. How can I make itout, you know, those type of
situations, and so always wantedto be a person that people could
look to, to, you know, provideencouragement, you know,
provided help, you know, andalways say, like, yeah, okay, I,
(23:34):
I have these championships. Youknow, that's great. I'm no
better than you. You know, Icame from this issue you you
know, if you want to go to thoseareas, I can try to help you get
there. You will never look at meand be like, okay, he doesn't
care. You know, he doesn't wantto, you know, give a helping
hand. You know, I care foreverybody. You know, not just
people who live like me. I carefor everybody, and I want people
(23:56):
to come together to make thiswork. Because I truly feel, and
I believe this in my heart, Itruly feel we were all put on
this earth to help each other,right? And I just help somebody
looks like me to help eachother. And if we were, if we
could ever get past all the, youknow, the the things that aren't
similar, you know, yeah,accomplish so much more, right?
(24:16):
Yeah, that's, that's just how Ifeel. And so when I got a chance
to talk to kids, I mean, that's,you know, that just lights my
heart, and I just want to dowhatever I can to help.
I love it, because I think thelessons that you're teaching,
especially to our youth, thatwhen you can look beyond all of
the other BS that's out there,and there's a ton of it, right,
right, if you can just help themunderstand that, you know,
(24:38):
doesn't matter, you know, race,religion, you know, background
hit. You know experience. If youcan just look at another human
being and you can connect onthat, heart to heart, belly to
belly, kind of connection. Youreally do something significant.
You can you can change your yourperspective. You can change, you
know, you know, you can change alot in this world just by.
(25:00):
Treating people with, you know,respect and dignity, right?
Exactly. I
love that. I love that. What doyou think it's like the biggest
challenge, you know, as you lookat this next generation that's
coming up, and you're you'reobviously trying to, you know,
attract them to the Universityof Nebraska and eventually tie
that back into the employersthat will benefit from that
(25:22):
future workforce. But, you know,what? What do you think the
biggest challenges are betweencompanies today aligning with,
you know, the up and comingworkforce, you know, the way
that, you know, the generationalchange that's, you know, sort
of, you know, thrust upon usbecause of this, this different
kind of mindset in terms of theyouth movement, what, what do
(25:42):
you what do you see as thebiggest areas of opportunity or
the biggest challenges for themto, you know, to address or
overcome?
I think, you know, we kind ofhave, and I hate to say because
I know I sound over. I say this,but this little bit of a an
entitled, you know youth, right?You know where you know it back
(26:07):
in the day is, you know you workextremely hard, you put in the
all the hours, and you know,gradually you climb the ladder,
and that sometimes it takes timeto do that. Well, right or
wrong, you know, we have a youththat that's not what they cater
to, right? You know, they'retrying to latter fast, you know,
(26:28):
and then they may not have areally developed work ethic, you
know, type situation and and sohow can, you know, companies
still be able to attract thesekids and still be able to create
an environment, or workenvironment, that they can
thrive back. But also, you know,learn old cultures that are
(26:49):
older values that will allow thecompany to still grow, you know,
the way they want to, right? Andyou know, that's hard because,
you know, you're connected witha different with people who
have, you know, things that aredifferent, that are they have
different values, right? Youhave to find a way to commit
that. Then you have thischanging technology environment
(27:09):
that's changing all the time.How do you get them involved
with that, as well, the wholeremote work and going back to
work in office now, you have tobring all that in now. So I
don't envy, you know, some ofthese employers right now,
because it's, oh yeah, not a lotof fun. But you know, when it
comes down to it, you still haveto find a way to connect with
(27:30):
people. You still need thosepeople to be able to provide the
services that you're trying toprovide, you know, you know,
for, you know, businesses andcommunities and those type of
things and the you still need tobe able to, you know, figure out
a way to gain gainful, you know,work experience. So these, these
kind of have to find a way tocome together, right? And, yeah.
(27:54):
And, in my opinion, I thinkthat's a great opportunity for
both, because this worldcontinues to change. It
continues to Yeah. So, you know,as you have some of these people
who are kind of in the middle ofwho, you know, they recognize
the changes that are going on.They recognize the changes that
are happening in technology. Andthey're, they're gaining
(28:15):
leadership within theseorganizations. It allows them to
say, you know, here's the waythat you can connect with the
company. Allows them to go tothe company allows them to go to
the company and say, here's abetter way for you to connect
with these youth, so that we canfind this mesh to so that we can
all ties can rise, right? So, soI think that's, that's probably
the, in my opinion, you know,the tougher thing, because
that's a lot of things that youhear right now within industry,
(28:37):
is, you know, these kids don'twork as hard. Their expectations
sometimes are a little, youknow, higher than they should,
little off here than they shouldbe. But at the same time, you
know, it's better to havesomebody who feels like they can
accomplish the world, right?Yeah, and trying to, you know,
make that happen within, withinthe confines of your
(28:59):
environment, as opposed tosomebody who, you know, doesn't
want to work hard and won't,doesn't want to accomplish
anything, but, you know, so, soI thought, so, I think there was
some opportunity there for themto do that. But again, I don't,
yeah, well, you touched on atthe very beginning. Though, none
of that works unless you havethe ability to connect with one
(29:20):
another and find a way tocommunicate on each other's
level, right? And that's, that'skind of key, and I think that
you've got, you do have ageneration that's coming in with
loftier expectations, they alsoare, you know, oddly defining
their success, not necessarilyin a monetary or title role kind
of basis. It's in work that theyfind, you know, satisfying and
(29:43):
and that they feel like there isa purpose behind what they do.
And then you have organizationsthat are kind of like, Yeah,
well, this is kind of the waywe've always done it. And you
know that you got to come intothat situation with someone that
can basically help, you know,that conversation adapt, because
there is a meeting of the mind.That can happen if you're
forward thinking. I just think alot of companies, especially
(30:04):
right now, aren't that they'rethrowing the baby out with the
bath water without thinkingthrough like, how do I leverage
this and turn a negative into apositive, or maybe something
that maybe is maybe amisunderstanding or a miss set
of expectations? How do we levelset those so that we can both
find a way, path, you know, pathforward for success.
(30:24):
And I think, I think one thingthat's this that can really be a
really good opportunity is that,you know, these kids expect more
success. Well, that means theyneed to be more productive
quicker. And if they're doingthat, then they have, then they
have to prepare themselves inorder to be able to do that. And
then also, it puts it on thecompany to say, how can we make
these kids learn this faster,right? So that that change in
(30:46):
itself, because that's alwaysbeen a problem as well. Long
term is that, you know, youbring in somebody, whether it's
from college or from aninternship, and they're like,
well, it's taking them, youknow, two years to be
productive. How can we, youknow, make that shorter, right?
So it forces both sides of theequation to meet in the middle
and make that happen.
You can, you know, I'm going touse the analogy, because it's
(31:09):
one I know you're comfortablewith, and certainly I think a
lot of people out there wouldsee but you come from the
generation of football players.You went into the pros, and with
the Denver Broncos, won a SuperBowl, which is just phenomenal.
I think that's so awesome. Butthat's that was a that was a
time when players would bedrafted, and they would come and
(31:30):
they would sit behind a playerfor a year or two. They weren't
just thrust into the startingrole right away. And you see the
the difference between theculture of the NFL back then in
the mid 90s to where it istoday, where now they expect
these rookies to, like, hit theground running, and you're
talking about a completelydifferent culture or completely
(31:50):
different work environment, andthe speed of the game is
significant than what a lot ofcollege players are accustomed
to. So it's kind of aninteresting kind of analogy to
the work environment we have inthat things are the expectations
are higher, and the need forperformance is is almost
required quicker than it everhas been. Do you kind of see
(32:14):
that same kind of mindset now interms of the game as it kind of
overlays to the business world?
It's exactly like that. Now, asa matter of fact, college is
like that. Now that's true.Yeah, college wasn't like that
in the past. In the past, it wasmore like, you know what you
talked about it, we're goingdown there. And then, mind you,
let's say we have, you know, 15people coming in a recruiting
(32:37):
class. You've got one or two ofthose guys that may get a look
as a freshman, everybody else,they're either going to red
shirt or they're going to besitting on the bench waiting for
the next two years, developingtheir bodies, learning about the
playbook, or kind of bitingtheir time, so that once they
hit the field, they're ready toplay. That's not quite the case
anymore, right? Because of, youknow, transfer portal things,
(33:00):
you know, whatever the case maybe, they're expected to be ready
now. And so that's exactly howit is in kind of industry,
right? You know that they don't,they don't necessarily want to
wait as long. They want you tomake some significant strides,
you know, right, as you start.Or there's other people that you
know they can, they can find toactually take your place. And
so, and whether right or wrong,that's just kind of the way of
(33:24):
the world, you know. So that's,that's, that's a crazy
transition to have, especiallyfrom a football standpoint, you
need to, it does take some timeto kind of develop yourself,
but, but from an industrystandpoint, it is something that
you have to do because studiesof studies are starting to show
that, you know, people whochange jobs more frequently,
(33:45):
more often end up making moremoney long term. You know, in
order to be able to do that, youhave to show some proficiency to
do that as well. So you gotta becareful. So, so it's
interesting, what's going on onboth sides, but I'm here for it,
you know?
Yeah, absolutely. I saw astatistic the other day, because
I think you and I are separatedby just a few years, but when
(34:09):
our generation was coming up andgraduating college, you were
kind of expected to, like, maybea max, make five total job
changes in the in your entirecareer, because you would
probably have a 10 to 15 yearrun with a company or two, and
then, you know, some smallerstints with others. But for the
vast majority, it was prettyunheard of to have many more
(34:30):
jobs than that, let alonechanging industry. Whereas now
kids that are graduating fromthe University, let's say at 22
or 24 years old, they're comingout and they will have five to
eight jobs before they hit 30.It's like that, you know, you
think about that, and it's likein, in, like you said, with that
statistic, those that areactually changing their in a lot
(34:52):
of times they're changingbecause they're hiring up,
right? They're getting betterroles and leveling up their
career path. But that wholeshift. In the, you know, sort of
the direction in overall, youknow, sort of your career
longevity that I think we havethat's almost out the window
now, because, you know, I talkedto somebody. We were
interviewing for my softwarecompany. I interviewed somebody,
(35:14):
and she's probably, like, mid30s, and she's had like, 20 jobs
since she graduated. And youwould normally have looked at
them and like, Oh, my God, youcan't keep a job. But she had an
explanation for every single oneas to why it became a better
role and opportunity, or why shegot recruited from this one to
this one. But it was, like athree page resume, and it was
like, Oh, wow, right, but, butit was, it was just interesting.
(35:38):
And that's kind of the culturewe have now. It
is, and sometimes I'm not sure,like how I feel about it,
because I think there's there'stwo sides, there's one side of
it that's okay. I'm trying tomake sure that I can continue to
be successful and continue togrow. If that means that I'm at
a place only for a year, thenthat's the case. But I also I
(36:01):
still have a heart for you know,those individuals who you know
are loyal to companies that givethem an opportunity, who you
know are loyal to, you know,good atmospheres and cultures
and what type of things and andit kind of reminds me of, you
know, how things are changinglittle bit in college football
back in the day, you kind ofplay for the you know, the name
(36:21):
on the front of your jersey, andnow everything is on the back
right, and that's, you know,there's some What
do you think about that I'mreally curious about? I don't
know.
It's really such a catch 22because if I'm not playing, and
I'll say this for my team, in myopinion, if we're not playing
(36:43):
for the name for the Nebraskaprogram, for that tradition,
we're not winning thatchampionship like we're not
winning I don't I think it'sreally hard to come together and
accomplish something big whenit's all about individualistic
type things. Yeah, you know whatI mean. And so I think that's
that's going to take away quitea bit from, you know, the
(37:03):
loyalty and traditions ofcollege football in itself. And
I hate to say, I think it might,you know, lower a little bit of
the product, you know, that'sbeing put out right there, you
know. So, so I don't like that,but at the same time, like I do
understand, especially when youyou come from nothing, and now
you have a chance to, you know,play for university and actually
(37:24):
make money. Now, I mean, I, youknow, I can't fault the kid for,
you know, trying to make somefinance to, you know, help
himself and his family rightaway, because nobody's
guaranteed to, you know, havethose opportunities long term,
right? And so, but I, but Iagain, I feel the same as far as
the corporate world, because youknow you're taking care of you,
you're taking care of yourfamily, and if you're doing
(37:46):
things that are going to set youup long term to be able to
accomplish your dreams, then Ican't fault people for doing
that.
Yeah, yeah. Well, you when youwent into the NFL. What was it
that most surprised you aboutyou got drafted by the Denver
Broncos, and you went from onegreat coach to what I got to
(38:06):
think is probably another greatcoach, with Mike Shanahan at the
time, and he had, I mean,you're, you're on a team with
John Elway, with, you know, theguy that just exudes leadership.
What was that like coming into aprogram like that after, I mean,
you had to be, you know, youknow, hot stuff coming in,
because you were coming off oftwo national championships. I
mean, highly touted rookie. Imean, they probably, they were
(38:28):
probably really excited to haveyou join the program. But what
was the difference when you wentfrom, you know, college to the
pros? What did that feel like
about a totem board? Again?That's what it felt. Again,
that's what it felt. You know, Iwent there and, you know, I
wasn't
those national championshipsdidn't get you out of rookie
(38:49):
hazing or anything. No, none ofthat.
Mind you. Mind you? I'm going toColorado, right? You know, they
don't have grass. Yeah, that'sright, I'll tell you. I do
remember when we had, when wehad won our Super Bowl
Championship. We had one of thecelebrations at the owners
(39:11):
house, Pat Bowden's house, yeah,we went in there. And for some
reason, I just thought I wasgonna show off a little bit,
because we had a couple ofColorado guys and they had their
rings on. So I thought, I'mgonna go ahead, let me go ahead
and put my five rings on, myseven rings on, and just bling
it out a little bit. These guys,they didn't appreciate that.
(39:31):
But, yeah, funny. But no, itwas, it was, it was a great
time. You know? What wasdifferent was just the speed of
a game and the fact that, whenyou're playing in college, you
know, your marginal era can, youknow, be this big and you can
still be successful, you canstill, you know, make plays and
(39:52):
have a chance to go to the nextlevel in the league, your margin
era is this small, you know, isthis you. All and the game, you
really learned that the game isso much more mental than it is
physical when you get to thatlevel, you know, because
everybody's a good athlete, youknow, everybody was a baller
back in the day. But it's reallyabout, you know, number one, can
(40:14):
I learn the playbook? I have tolearn the playbook, but in the
back of my hand. Number two, canI deal with their everyday ups
and downs, you know, I'm goingto get yelled at by coaches. I'm
going to be going up againstpeople who are, you know,
eventual Hall of Famers. This,this may not go as fast as I
wanted to go, and I had neverreally been that much of a bench
(40:34):
warm record. Do I can I, youknow, be comfortable with doing
that while I'm, you know, tryingto get on the field? And it's
just a lot of uncertainty. And,you know, not having that, that
job stability like that can wearon you, like, you know, it can
wear you so, so it was, it was alot more mental than anything
else. But, you know, when itcame down to it, the same
(40:57):
process that got me, you know,on the field of Nebraska was the
same thing that, you know,helped me there, you know, was
just like, trust the process,work your butt off, be
coachable, be a good teammate,you know, believe in yourself,
all those other things. And thenwhat helped me even more was I'm
in a, I'm in a locker room with,you know, again, Hall of Fame
guys. But their egos were cool,like John is the John was cool.
(41:21):
He got along with everybody, youknow, I'm there with Shannon
sharp, and you see Shannon sharpnow he's blown up. He's big, and
he taught me the same way he is,you know. Now that's the same
way he was back there. He talkeda lot of crap, but he was just
cool, you know, he was, he was,he was just cool. And so the
locker room was, was cool. And Iwas behind Steve Atwater, who
was the consummate man. Youknow, California, great, great
(41:45):
guy. You know, he wasn't, youknow, he was trying to help me,
even though I'm trying to takehis position at some point, he's
still trying to help me. So wehad that type of environment,
and it made it great beingthere.
Yeah, I mean that those twoyears when they got the Super
Bowls, I mean, those were, like,you know, it was finally get the
monkey off of, always backright, and win it. And then
(42:05):
just, you could see that teamwas ready to, you know, take the
next step. But even though, youknow, obviously, with Elway
retiring after the second one, Ithink in 98 you know, it's like,
you know, he had done everythinghe needed to do. But you could
just, you could sense thecamaraderie on that squad
without question, you know, tobeat, you know, Holmgren and far
(42:26):
in the Super Bowl, it doesn'tget any better than that, right?
Exactly, exactly that was, thatwas a great way to end it. And,
you know, we were underdogs. Youknow, I think it was 14 point
underdogs or something. Yeah,yeah, we're in the Super Bowl,
like, really 14. So to be thereand then, you know, to cause a
(42:46):
fumble, and to play like it, tohave a little bit of an impact
on the game that was, that wasreally amazing.
Not a little you met, you had alarge impact on that game. So I
think if anybody goes and checksout your highlight reel on
YouTube and just sees the thethe hits that you made. I would
not have ever wanted to be onthe field with you. Ever
(43:07):
appreciate it, man, I appreciatethat.
I was telling I was tellingpeople in your intro like you
still look like you could go outthere and play. Do you miss the
game? You know? Yeah, being asin good shape as you are right
now. You know
what? I don't miss the game thatmuch because I'm, you know, I'm,
you know, 51 now, well,actually, 52 tomorrow, which is
(43:27):
crazy. Happy birthday. Iappreciate that. Appreciate
that. So I don't have thesedelusions that I could still
play the game anymore. So I'mnot, I'm not worried about that,
but I do miss, I really missbeing athletic. I remember,
yeah, it's just being able toget up and run. And the other
thing was, the biggest thing, Imissed camaraderie, like you
missed the guys, yeah, you knowthat's, that's, that's really
(43:50):
what you miss. So
when I noticed for a while youwere in into coaching, was that
not a path that you reallywanted to explore going forward?
Or,
yeah, so I did coaching. Icoached from, I think it was oh
three or oh four to like 12, ifI'm not mistaken, I coached for
(44:10):
a similar pro team here withOmaha beef for about eight
years, and then I did four yearsin high school ball, and then I
got involved with a group calledWarren Academy, where we provide
position specific training forguys that are trying to go to
the next level in football. So Istill do that. So that gives me
my football fix the training.And then we also do 707, things,
(44:34):
which is really cool. So, sothat's, that's an essence, how I
kind of stay around football.And I figured, you know, if I
played, it would be stupid forme to completely walk away and
not, you know, try to pass thisknowledge on to some of the kids
that are actually out there.But, but, yeah, I still do that.
Still fun. Matter of fact, wehad a 707 tournament out in
Kansas City this past weekend,and, you know, our top team won
(44:54):
the tournament. So, you know,Oh, awesome. Myself on the back
there. Yeah. Thank you.Appreciate. It, but, but, no,
it's amazing. Where we're, youknow, we're at this point where
even Nebraska and some of theother colleges are paying
attention to the talent thatwe're that we're helping to
produce and and so, yeah, if Ican help some of these kids get
to college and, you know, getscholarships and possible new
(45:17):
money, man, that's That'samazing. That's what it's all
about.
That's great. I mean, talk abouta positive ripple you're
creating for so many out there.That's awesome. Well, I could
talk to you all day. I want tobe respectful of your time. I
always like to finish theseinterviews up with a few ripple
connection questions. If you'recool with it, no problem. What
is? What is one lesson that youlearned in football that you use
(45:39):
to this day in your businesslife.
Lesson that I learned infootball is really to conquer
adversity like, that's, that's,that's really what it comes down
to conquero adversity. I, youknow, I never knew who I was
going to necessarily, never hadcontrol of who I was going to be
lined up against, right? But thegoal was always going to still
(46:01):
be the same. And everybody canhave excuses for why you don't
accomplish that goal. You caneither let the situation, you
know, control you, or you cancreate your own fate, you know.
And so that that particular, youknow, piece of it, for me, has
always resonated. And a lot oftimes when I go talk to kids,
it's always about, you know,here's the goal. You got to
(46:22):
figure out a way to make itthere. And so that's what,
that's what I tell
them, I love it. I love it. Whatdid the seven year old Tony want
to be when he grew
up? That's probably, honestly,probably an NFL player, you
know? Okay, I don't remember anyother occupation, and I just
(46:45):
remember, like, at that time, Ididn't really watch college
football as much, and so the waythat I really, you know, bonded
with my uncles and my dad andeverybody. We were watching NFL
football, you know. And soluckily for me, it came true,
what was your team growing upthat you rooted for? So
I had a couple of teams backthen, and for some reason I
(47:08):
like, so I like Detroit and Ilike, just because I used to
like the blue and silver when Iwas a kid. I just like the
COVID. But I also love, likeBilly Sims and Barry Sanders and
those are my guys. I like thebears back then too. So just,
you know, Walter, Payton, Barry,Sanders, or, like, you know,
two, two of my biggest idols asa kid, like, you know, had to
(47:32):
like the bears and Detroit, eventhough they were in the same
conference of fighting eachother.
That's like room for the Yankeesin the Red Sox.
Little bit. So if
you weren't doing what you'redoing now, what would you be
doing for a career? If you couldchoose any career path?
(47:54):
That's a good question. I thinkI would probably still be in the
philanthropy area. You know, Ilove just being able to, you
know, help people and give back.And, you know, if I would love
to be, you know, that person onthe other side of kind of what I
do, right? You know, if I was,you know, extremely, you know,
(48:15):
successful, and I'm able to, youknow, bless people all over the
world, like I would love, youknow, to be able to do with
that, because I think there areso many people and causes that
are doing amazing things, butthey don't have the resources
to, you know, truly fulfilltheir mission, and I would love
to be able to provide that forthem.
I love that. That's great. Ifyou could put up a message on a
(48:35):
billboard that every kid youknow would have to see on the
way to school or on the wayhome, or anybody going to work
coming home, what bit ofinspiration, or what message
would you put on
that billboard, something alongthe lines of, you're never
alone, like you don't have to doanything by yourself, right? I
(48:57):
think that's one thing that,especially coming from, you
know, the whole COVID thingwhere, you know, people were
isolated, they couldn't talk topeople, and then how it really
affected people. I think peoplejust need to take that, that
perception and that belief longterm, that that we're here to
help each other, right? And thenif I have a huge goal, I don't
(49:19):
need to do that by myself, reachout to people, because there's
so many people out here that arewilling to help you, even if
they don't really know how theyknow how to, they want to
connect you to somebody to helpyou accomplish whatever goal it
is on some amazing team, someamazing, you know, football
teams and and work teams. Andwhen it's all said and done,
(49:39):
when you're around people whocare, anything is possible,
right? Anything is possible. Andso when I talk to kids, a lot of
times, I'm like, create your ownteam, right? Find a team. You
know, get a mentor, you know, ateacher, get a friend, get a
coach, all those people that cansow into your life, and I help
you accomplish your goal. So, sojust let them know you're not
(50:02):
alone. Create your own team, andanything can be possible. I
love that. So just out ofcuriosity, is there any one
person that sticks out to youthat was sort of stepped up to
be part of your team, to helpyou become the person that you
are, that you know, just reallyyou know, when you think about
made an indelible mark on yourlife, is there one person that
(50:22):
stands out to you
besides coach Osborne? I wouldprobably say Coach Lonnie tap.
That was my high school footballcoach, and the reason for that
was, you know, I was No, he's afootball coach, but I will see
him, you know, going to getkids, to pick them up, to go to
school, to take them home. Hehad players that were actually
(50:44):
living with them, because theyactually needed it, you know, we
were, we were at a high schoolwhere, you know, we won, you
know, two games my freshmanyear, two games my sophomore
year, you know. So we weren't ateam that was was doing well. He
had been working there for a lotof years, and he took a lot of
flack, but he didn't care,because he was about the growth
of those kids, right, aboutthose kids, and so when I see
(51:07):
that, and he was just, you know,he was, he was all bought in and
he believed in me, but he wasjust a great man, and I, and I
just took from that, and I'mlike, Well, if I have a chance
to to give Beth a community inany way, I'm going to do That
because
of him. I love that is he stillcoaching? Yeah,
no. Well, he stopped coachingtwo years ago. He was with
(51:29):
Benson, and then he left, andthen he was coaching for North
for a number of years. So it'scrazy, because I just heard
today he's actually getting, Ithink he's getting inducted into
the Benson Hall of Fame. Oh,wow, for his career, and that's
going to happen in April of thisyear. So very fitting. I will
definitely be to support
him. That's awesome. That'sreally cool. Well, my last
(51:52):
couple of questions, when youhear the word the ripple effect
or the phrase the ripple effect,what does that conjure up for
you?
That that creates no goodfeelings within me, because
that's, that's how I feel.That's why, in essence, I am the
way I am. Because I feel like,even if you're not around
(52:13):
somebody for a long time, you'regonna always have a huge, huge
influence, right? You know thatthat, that ripple effect is
real, like I this is how I likein my life. I'm also involved
with teammates mentoringprogram, because I want people
to know that there are peoplewho care about you, and as they
see you doing good work, youknow, hopefully that could work
(52:36):
well off on that person. Theytake it to their friends, and it
just creates this, this, this,this, this pool of good energy
and good will and vibes that arefloating throughout the
throughout the world. And so,you know, I've always been a
person that just paid attentionto, you know, the good things
that people are doing. And Ithink that there's just such
(52:59):
power, you know, in goodwill, inthe good work, you know, so when
you when, when I met youinitially, and you had this
thing, I was like, Man, I shouldhave came up with
that just makes sense. Man, itjust makes sense.
I love that. I love that. Well,my last question would be, what
(53:20):
ripples could I be looking tocreate for you?
Oh, that's a good question. Iwould just say, if you have you
know individuals who you knownumber one from a you know,
engineering standpoint, ifthey're looking for ways to get
into the engineering field orinformation about you, and now
placing them my way the otherOkay, is, if you have young
(53:43):
athletes who are in football or,you know, trying to get to the
next level, and, you know, maywant some training, you know,
send them my way for one Academyagain. This is, this isn't
anything about me. This isabout, you know, trying to get
them to be the best version ofthemselves, you know. And if I
can help, I would love to dothat.
You bet I will definitely sendany and all your direction. For
(54:04):
sure, I lied. There was one lastquestion. What's the best way
for people to follow you, or howdo you want them to, you know,
you know, just keep up with whatyou're up to. Is there a social
handle or LinkedIn that youprefer
I am on LinkedIn so they canlook at me up just by my name.
I'm also on Facebook. Those areprobably the easiest ways to
(54:29):
stay involved with me. I have anInstagram, honey, but I can't
remember what I would say to putit
up as a link or something. So,yeah, yeah, no,
LinkedIn is the best way toreach out to me. And I wouldn't
give my I could give you myemail as well to share if you
(54:50):
want to do that too, butLinkedIn will probably be the
best way. Okay, yeah, we'll justput your LinkedIn profile up on
the show notes, just so peoplehave it and they can follow you
that way. You know, wedefinitely. I can't begin to
thank you enough for how youknow, for you participating
today, I have really beenlooking forward to this for a
long time, and not just becauseyou know you are two time
(55:10):
national champion and Super Bowlchampion, but because you're a
good guy, you are making adifference out there in the
world, and that's what I reallywant to highlight and profile,
really for all of our guestshere, and I appreciate all the
ripples that you're creating,not only for you know, the
University of Nebraska, but forthe youth that you're, you know,
committed to helping, not onlydown the college path, but also
in what you're doing for helpingthose college or those you know,
(55:33):
potential college bound athletesreally understand what it's
going to take to be successfulat that next level. You're,
you're doing some great work, myfriend, I appreciate it.
Well, I appreciate it. And youmake sure you, you know, you
keep this podcast going. And Ithink it'll just keep this
stream going. I think it'samazing work that you're doing,
and to chance to be able to, youknow, share the stories and
inspiration of all these peoplethat are actually out there. I
(55:55):
mean, you're going to make somereally positive things happen.
So, so I appreciate it. Well,
I appreciate that. If, you everwant to introduce me to your ex
football coach, I'm all, I'mdown. That's somebody I
definitely need to know forsure. But I just appreciate you
so much, guys. We'll be backwith another episode of the
ripple effect podcast very soon,but be sure to follow Tony.
We'll have the links in the shownotes, but Tony, until next
(56:17):
time. Thank you so much, andripple on. You.
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