Dean Spanos and Anthony Noto to be Inducted Into the National Football Foundation Leadership Hall of Fame
Football and business leaders set to be honored Jan. 6 in advance of the College Football Playoff National Championship at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
IRVING, Texas (Jan. 3, 2022) – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that Dean A. Spanos, the Owner and Chairman of the Board of the Los Angeles Chargers, and Anthony Noto, the CEO of SoFi, will be inducted into the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame. They will be honored together on Friday, Jan. 6, at the YouTube Theater in SoFi Stadium during an affair that will kick off a special weekend of college football, culminating with the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship on Monday, Jan. 9, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
Spanos and Noto have continuously expressed a life-long appreciation for the game and the impact it has had on their lives with a desire to strengthen the game for future generations.
Spanos has served on numerous NFL Committees, shaping the pro game and negotiating labor agreements. Locally, he has implemented football-focused community programs to refurbish high school football fields; updated weight rooms; and provided team equipment to youth clinics. He has also been a key supporter of High School Coach of the Week programs in three Southern California counties, providing monetary awards to the program of each coach who is recognized.
Noto became an executive with the NFL as a way to combine his childhood passion for the game with his professional aspirations, and in his newest role as the CEO of SoFi, he has continued to make that connection by playing a key role in the naming of SoFi Stadium.
“Both Dean Spanos and Anthony Noto have strong ties to the gridiron as business executives today and having played the game during their formative days,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. “Dean and Anthony have become true stewards of the game. Together, they have played key roles in the opening of SoFi Stadium, and the venue has made a significant impact on the LA community while quickly becoming one of the most iconic venues in all of American sports and giving football a key platform in the second largest media market in the county. We are proud to recognize them for their remarkable leadership skills and their commitment to football and the lessons it instills in the young people who play our sport.”
Established in 2013, the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame provides the NFF with a powerful platform for recognizing the country’s most influential individuals who have ascended to the highest levels of success and exhibited the critical leadership qualities that transcend ordinary enterprises. Inductees of the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame must embody the same qualities in amateur football that define excellence in American life: hard work, discipline, determination, teamwork, integrity and the relentless pursuit to improve.
“Both Dean Spanos and Anthony Noto realize the significance of being in a position where they can make a difference,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “Both have excelled as competitors in the business world, and they have stepped forward to give back. They have given so much of their lives to the game, and we are proud to shine our national spotlight on them by inducting them into the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame.”
At the Jan. 6 event, Spanos and Noto’s outstanding accomplishments and community contributions will be highlighted, becoming the 14th and 15th inductees into the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame. The Midtown Men, who starred in the original Broadway Cast of Jersey Boys, will make a special musical performance at the event, and each honoree will receive a specially designed ring from Jostens during the ceremony. Following the event, each honoree’s contributions will become part of a permanent exhibit at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
The NFF Leadership Hall of Fame events serve as a centerpiece of the NFF’s annual fundraising efforts, providing critical support for the organization’s outreach efforts that emphasize the value of football to society. By creating a powerful fundraising opportunity, the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame allows those who have reached the pinnacle of success to help the NFF strengthen its programs and fulfill its mission of Building Leaders Through Football.
NFF Leadership Hall of Fame Inductees
2013 – George F. Pyne, Chairman & CEO, Bruin Sports Capital
2013 – Jerry Jones, Owner, President & G.M., Dallas Cowboys
2014 – Gov. Chris Christie, Governor, State of New Jersey
2015 – Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper, Founder & Chairman, Cooper Aerobics
2015 – Joe Jamail, Famed Trial Lawyer & Philanthropist
2015 – Casey Wasserman, Chairman & CEO, Wasserman
2016 – Michael Bidwill, President, Arizona Cardinals
2016 – Gov. Doug Ducey, Governor, State of Arizona
2017 – Tod Leiweke, Chief Operating Officer, National Football League
2018 – Arthur Blank, Owner & Chairman, Atlanta Falcons
2018 – Ben Sutton Jr., Founder & Chairman, Teall Capital
2019 – Stephen M. Ross, Owner & Chairman, Miami Dolphins
2022 – Carl Allegretti, President, Arbor Investments
2023 – Dean Spanos, Owner and Chairman of the Board, Los Angeles Chargers
2023 – Anthony Noto, CEO, SoFi
Click here to learn more about the NFF Leadership Hall of Fame.
Dean A. Spanos Bio
Under the leadership of Dean Spanos, the Los Angeles Chargers continue to make bold moves that position the franchise for long-term success in the nation’s second-largest media market.
Thanks to Spanos’ senior leadership and strategic direction, the Chargers broke ground on the team’s future permanent training facility and corporate headquarters in 2022 at a 14-acre site in El Segundo, California. The site is less than four miles from their iconic SoFi Stadium home, which was opened in 2020 just months after successfully unveiling new team uniforms and updated branding that helped usher in a new era in the team’s storied history.
Spanos has led the team through numerous franchise records and victories. During the 11 seasons from 2004-14, the Chargers won 113 games (playoffs included) — five of which were AFC West championships (2004, 2006-09) — and four playoff games. Only three teams in the NFL won more games during that span.
Named President of the Chargers in early 1994 — the same year the team culminated its most memorable season with an appearance in Super Bowl XXIX — Dean, along with his father Alex Spanos, also secured Super Bowl XXXII (1998) and Super Bowl XXXVII (2003) for their community, with each event netting more than $300 million for the local economy.
In 2015, Spanos handed over the reins of day-to-day leadership to sons A.G. and John. Eldest son A.G. Spanos now serves as President of Business Operations while John Spanos heads up the other side of the business as President of Football Operations.
The Spanos family has a multi-generation commitment to community involvement and is recognized both as one of the NFL’s most philanthropic families as well as one of Southern California’s most active and caring contributors to local causes. Their financial contributions of more than $15 million and their emotional support for youth, sports, education and our brave men and women in uniform have been a hallmark of their team ownership and legacy.
Aside from football, Spanos also serves as CEO of the A.G. Spanos Companies, and along with his brother, Michael, oversees all construction operations nationwide.
Spanos was born in Stockton, California. He earned varsity letters in football and golf at Lincoln High School. Spanos continued his golfing career at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, graduating in 1972 with a degree in business administration.
Click here for Spanos’ expanded bio.
Anthony Noto Bio
Anthony Noto has served as the CEO of SoFi since February 2018 while serving on its board of directors. Previously, Noto was COO of Twitter from November 2016 to February 2018 and was the company’s CFO from July 2014 until August 2017.
Prior to joining Twitter in July of 2014, he was the co-head of Global Telecommunications, Media and Technology (TMT) Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs from 2010 to 2014.
From 2008 to 2010, Noto served as the National Football League’s executive vice president and chief financial officer for nearly three years. While at the NFL, Noto oversaw league-wide finance and strategy functions, including corporate development, labor finance, operational finance and accounting, tax and treasury.
Prior to joining the NFL, Noto worked at Goldman Sachs as the Internet, Entertainment and Cable Equity Research analyst and business unit leader for the Communications, Media and Entertainment Equity Research team. Noto joined Goldman in 1999 in Equity Research to cover the Internet sector and added coverage of the Entertainment sector in 2003. He was a top-ranked analyst in both the Internet and Entertainment sectors in the annual Institutional Investor poll and Greenwich Survey from his first year covering each sector. Noto also achieved the distinction of being the No. 1 ranked Internet analyst from 2003 to 2007. He was named managing director in 2003 and partner in 2004.
Before joining Goldman Sachs, Noto worked at Lehman Brothers, where he was part of the Institutional Investor All-American Team covering the Broadline Retailing sector. Before transitioning to equity research, Noto was a brand manager at Kraft Foods.
A 1991 graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Noto played linebacker for the Black Knights, earning All-East and Academic All-American honors, and he served as a captain in the U.S. Army as a telecommunications officer. He earned his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1999.
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