Tony Tucker is stepping down as Delaware State University’s athletic director to return to secondary education at St. Andrew’s School in Middletown, where he began his career more than three decades ago. DSU announced on October 15 that Tucker will join St. Andrew’s in November as senior associate director of admissions and director of strategic projects and external relations.
Tucker’s departure comes less than three years after he joined DSU in April 2023 as senior associate vice president of athletics. He was promoted to athletic director in January 2025. Deputy athletic director Brian Ellerbe will oversee the Hornets’ athletics department while the university conducts a national search for Tucker’s replacement.
During his time at Delaware State, Tucker made several significant moves. He hired former NFL wide receiver DeSean Jackson as football coach in 2025, leading the Hornets to their best season in 18 years. He also launched new women’s wrestling and flag football programs, hired former St. Elizabeth High All-Stater Khadijah Rushdan as women’s basketball coach, and extended men’s basketball coach Stan Waterman’s contract.
Tucker was instrumental in advancing DSU’s Athletics Transformation Campaign, a $55 million initiative funded by state and private contributions to expand and improve on-campus facilities, including a new athletic center planned for construction in 2027.
Under his leadership, DSU student-athletes achieved the highest graduation rate in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, maintained a 3.28 cumulative grade-point average, and had more than 300 academic honor-roll students during the 2025–26 academic year.
In a statement, Tucker said, “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. 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.”
DSU President Tony Allen praised Tucker’s contributions, noting his return to private secondary education was “right here at home.” Allen said Tucker “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, fund-raising and investment in critical and long-overdue enhancements to our athletic footprint.”
Tucker’s career began at St. Andrew’s School, where he worked early on in his 35 years in education. He previously coached basketball and worked in admissions at Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania before co-founding the basketball academy at IMG Academy in Florida. He also scouted for the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets until 2013, then held leadership roles at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia, Flint Hill School in Virginia, and Grand River Academy in Ohio.
A former Delaware high school boys basketball Player of the Year in 1983 at state champion Wilmington High, Tucker played college basketball at the University of Delaware after transferring from Rhode Island. He is enshrined in the Delaware Basketball Hall of Fame.
Tucker’s return to St. Andrew’s marks a full circle in his career, moving from collegiate athletic administration back to the private school environment where he began. The university will continue its search for a new athletic director while Ellerbe manages the department.
According to Yahoo Sports.
