Where Are They Now: Tony Scarpino

He grew up dreaming of, one day, playing a football game at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

For Tony Scarpino, a Pittsburgh native but a fan of the Hurricanes' program and the quarterbacks it produced from an early age, there was no ground more hallowed, no stadium more attractive.

In late November 1993, fate intervened and there Scarpino was, tossing warm-up passes at the Orange Bowl as the starting quarterback for the University of Memphis, which was preparing to play a nationally televised game against the ninth-ranked Hurricanes.

An injury to starting quarterback Steve Matthews a few weeks earlier had moved Scarpino atop the depth chart and after leading the Tigers to a win over Southern Miss in the UofM's previous game, the trip to Miami for the regular-season finale loomed.

"It was a surreal moment for me," Scarpino said. "It didn't hit me until right before the game when I looked up and saw the Goodyear blimp."

Scarpino threw two touchdown passes to future Super Bowl champion and Hall of Famer Isaac Bruce, but the Hurricanes – a dominant college football program at the time – prevailed, 41-17, for their then-NCAA record 57^th consecutive home win.

Scarpino returned the following year for his senior season, but nothing matched the atmosphere surrounding the Orange Bowl experience, until he took the next step in his life, an unlikely stroll into a Navy recruiting office at a Memphis shopping strip near campus. That decision started a career in the military.
Tony Scarpino, 2020 Football

"I walked in the door and said, 'Hey, I've just graduated from the University of Memphis and I'd like to be a pilot, what do I have to do?'" said Scarpino. "They looked at me strange and said there's a lot to this.

"I happened to be lucky and blessed. That day there so happened to be a lieutenant there and he heard what I wanted to do and kind of held my hand through the entire process. I applied for officer candidate school to be a pilot and somehow, someway I got in. I never thought 25 years later I'd still be serving."

The ex-Tigers quarterback's Navy career has taken him across the United States (13 stops, including Maine, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Florida and Louisiana) and back to Memphis. Scarpino and his family recently moved back to the city where Scarpino completed his college football career in 1994 before joining the Navy.

After completing training, he began flying a Lockheed P-3 Orion, a maritime patrol aircraft, and later in his career transitioned to the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, a military transport aircraft. He also served in other capacities, including as a Defensive Legislative Fellow to Missouri Senator Christopher S. Bond and as an Operations Department Head, where he was responsible for an $8.7 million budget for 193 squadron personnel.

"I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life (after college football)," he said. "I just thought it would be neat to fly airplanes."

In addition to his multiple relocations in the U.S., Scarpino also spent time deployed in the Middle East and in Southeast Asia.

"I never thought I'd be based back in Memphis, but I'm glad," he said. "This is what I wanted. It's a great way to end my career because I'm sure I'll be retiring out of this job here in Millington."

Before relocating, Scarpino served as the commanding officer at the naval air station in New Orleans. He is a division director at personnel command in Millington, a position he expects to hold "for the next two or three years."

In Memphis, he intends to watch another athlete in the family, his son, Anthony. This season, Anthony will be a sophomore pitcher for Christian Brothers High School. Scarpino's oldest daughter, Madison, recently graduated from Ole Miss with a degree in broadcast journalism and his youngest daughter, Mia, is a sophomore at Alabama. He met his wife, Patricia, while in school at Memphis.

Scarpino's first move to Memphis came in the early 1990s. After spending two years playing for the University of Maryland, Scarpino transferred when the Terrapins underwent a coaching change.

At Memphis, he found himself playing behind Matthews – one of the most prolific passers in the program's history – as a junior, before earning the starting job to open the 1994 season. Looking back, he is amazed at the talent the Tigers had assembled, from receivers Bruce, Mac Cody and Russell Copeland to defensive standouts Richard Hogans and Danton Barto and kicker Joe Allison.

He remains captivated by the moment of his career, battling the nationally ranked Hurricanes, a team that included future NFL star Warren Sapp and future actor and pro wrestler Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Sapp and Johnson were defensive leaders for Miami, and Scarpino remembers being "introduced" to Sapp on several occasions during the game.

"It was awesome," Scarpino said. "One of my 15 minutes of fame was playing against Miami on national television. That was a thrill. It made it all worthwhile.

University of Memphis Athletics

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