One HBCU will be looking for a new athletic director after a game-changing hire.
Tony Tucker, who led the charge to bring DeSean Jackson to Delaware State, is resigning from the university to accept a leadership position at St. Andrews, a private boarding school in Middletown, DE, the school announced Thursday.
“The University is a special place — a place where thousands of alumni have mentored literally tens of
thousands of young people, in competitive sports and beyond, around the world,” Tucker said in a statement released by DSU. “In Delaware, I have felt that impact all of my life: trained, coached, mentored, and guided by countless Delaware State alumni, in the classroom and beyond. To have the opportunity to give back the way
someone gave to me has been the opportunity of a lifetime.”
“I am proud of him and grateful for his contributions to the University,” Delaware State president Dr. Tony Allen said. “He took on the quiet work of reorganizing how we serve students before we asked him to lead athletics, and then he revamped the Athletics Department around responsible growth — with a particular emphasis on women’s sports, academic achievement for every scholar-athlete, stronger partnerships with organizations like the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA), and new opportunities for sponsorships, fundraising, and investment in critical and long-overdue enhancements to our athletic footprint.”
Tucker, a Delaware high school hoops legend who also played collegiately, became athletic director in 2024, and began reshaping the Hornets’ athletic program. One huge step was the hire of DeSean Jackson as DSU’s football coach. Last season, Jackson led the Hornets to their first winning season since 2007 with an 8-4 record.
Tucker also oversaw a $55 million fundraising campaign that will result in a brand-new field house for university athletics and renovations for Alumni Stadium, scheduled to begin this coming January.
Under Tucker’s guidance, the university has also increased its sports offerings to 22 programs, including the first Division I HBCU women’s wrestling program and charter membership in the MEAC’s newest offering, women’s flag football.
A search committee has been formed to find Tucker’s replacement, with Delaware State expecting to have a hire in place by January.
