Tom Dixon (born August 21, 1961) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player. He played college football at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and professional football for the

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in the Detroit, Michigan area. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played i ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). He was a first-team All-American at the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

position in 1983. Dixon grew up in Indiana and attended Bishop Dwenger High School in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

. He enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1980 and played for Bo Schembechler's Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1980 to 1983. Dixon started every game for the Wolverines in the 1981, 1982, and 1983 seasons. As a junior, he was selected by both the conference coaches (UPI) and media (AP) as the first-team center on the

1982 All-Big Ten Conference football team The 1982 All-Big Ten Conference football team consists of American football players chosen by various organizations for All-Big Ten Conference teams for the 1982 college football season. Michigan receiver Anthony Carter was a first-team pick f ...

. As a senior, he was selected by the

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American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

and the '' Sporting News'' as a first-team center on the

1983 College Football All-America Team The 1983 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1983. The National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

. In April 1984, Dixon signed to play professional football for the

of the

(USFL). He played for the Panthers in 1984, but the team disbanded after the 1984 season. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in May 1985, then quit the team in late July 1985.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Tom 1961 births Living people American football centers Michigan Wolverines football players Michigan Panthers players Players of American football from Fort Wayne, Indiana