National Football Foundation

For more than 58 years, Tony Versaci has been giving back to amateur football players as both a coach and a leader of the NFF State of Michigan Chapter.
 
Versaci graduated from the University of Detroit in 1959 where he was a walk-on football player. He spent 11 years as the head coach of Divine Child High School where he won 84 percent of his games, including three undefeated seasons. Versaci was named Michigan High School Coach of the Year in 1966, which allowed him to visit any university in the country. He chose Alabama, and he ended up spending spring practices over four seasons being mentored by College Football Hall of Fame coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and the rest of the Crimson Tide staff. Versaci also spent a season at Michigan State University as an assistant coach before moving on to the NFL to spend two years with the St. Louis Cardinals as a special teams coach.
 
Outside of football, Versaci has been a franchisee of Burger King for 41 years. He has served as the chairman of the National Franchisee Association, which represents over 1,700 Burger King Franchisees, and he is presently the chairman of the Great Lakes Midwest Coalition and CEO/President of Michigan Multi-King, Inc.
 
A member of the NFF State of Michigan Chapter for 24 years, Versaci has served 17 of those years as president. Founded in 1962, the chapter has been a mainstay within the state’s football community ever since. The chapter has a strong relationship with the 662 high schools and the many colleges and universities throughout Michigan. The chapter’s highly popular annual awards banquet honors college and high school seniors from across Michigan, recognizing their academic excellence as well as on the field play and work in the community. The chapter also honors the Michigan All-State “Dream Team.”
 
“I take great pride in being an active member of the NFF,” said Versaci. “We honor the top 23 high school players in the state of Michigan. We also select and honor high school and college scholar-athletes annually. Having been a high school coach was my fondest memory. Having success on the field was great but watching the lessons that football taught the young men I coached, which has been converted into their lives, was definitely a marvelous experience.”
 
Versaci and his wife, Sally, live in Bingham Farms, Michigan, and have three children and five grandchildren. Versaci enjoys golfing and traveling in addition to football.