Dan Upperco (born May 23, 1963) is a corporate executive, entrepreneur, and former American football tight end for the Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League.[1] He signed as a free agent in 1985 after achieving All-Ivy League[2] honors 3 years running at Columbia University.

Dan Upperco
Born (1963-05-23) May 23, 1963 (age 61)
Education
Occupation(s)Corporate executive, entrepreneur

American football career
Career information
High school:William R. Boone High School
College:Columbia University
Position:Tight end
Career history
Los Angeles Raiders (1985)

High school career

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Three sports letterman at William R. Boone High School in Orlando, Florida playing football, basketball and competed in track and field.[3] In basketball was first-team All-Metro Conference and in football played tight end and defensive end making the All-State team playing in the 1981 Sunshine State Game,[4] was chosen first-team to the All-Metro Conference and All-Central Florida squads, MVP of his high school football team and school Hall of Fame.[5]

College career

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He finished his college career at Columbia University with 16 touchdowns, 107 receptions, 1,587 receiving yards averaging over 35 catches and over 500 yards during each of his three varsity years;[6] setting a number of Columbia records and at one time held the Ivy League record of catches in a single game with 13. He made the All-Ivy League teams every year during his varsity career (1st team his junior & senior year, Honorable Mention sophomore year).[4][7] He was Sporting News Preseason All-American and made the Playboy 's Pigskin Preview Issue All-East team. He was chosen as team MVP his senior year winning the prestigious “Smythe Cup”[8] with Columbia's football tradition being the 3rd longest in the nation playing the 2nd collegiate football game in 1870.[9]

Professional sports career

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Upperco signed with the Oakland Raiders franchise, which at the time was located in Los Angeles. He played during the pre-season and had a knee injury against the Dallas Cowboys sidelining him for the rest of the 1985 season.[10] He served as a two-term vice president and one term as treasurer for the National Football League Retired Players Association – Tri-State Chapter.[1]

Education

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Business career

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Currently, he is senior vice president at Mubadala Development Company, the strategic investment arm of the government of Abu Dhabi, $48 billion of assets under management and revenue of $7.6 billion for 2011. Roles for Mubadala include chief financial officer of a multimillion-dollar global facilities management,[10] development and infrastructure company and senior vice president roles in the company's Aerospace ($1.6 billion / $3.5 billion assets) and Real Estate & Hospitality ($450 million revenue / $3 billion assets) Business Units.[11] His business career includes corporate, Wall Street and entrepreneurial positions at MTB Banking Corporation, AT&T, Alcatel-Lucent, Bell Laboratories, Cares Built, Avaya Business Solutions, Virgin Mobile USA and Financial Recovery Services.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b NFL Players. Dan Upperco[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Ivy League Sports". Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  3. ^ "Replacing Dick Pace Won't Be Easy Chore - tribunedigital-orlandosentinel". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Novak, Jake. "Day 60: Upperco's Upper Hand". Bleacher Report. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  5. ^ "Members of the William R. Boone Hall of Fame" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  6. ^ "Year-by-Year Receiving Records". Archived from the original on December 21, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  7. ^ Ivy National Postseason Honors Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine (page 64)
  8. ^ "The David W. Smyth Football Cup - GoColumbiaLions.com—Official Web Site of Columbia University Athletics". Archived from the original on December 21, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  9. ^ Columbia University
  10. ^ a b "School of the Legends". Archived from the original on October 11, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  11. ^ Mubadala Investment Company | Mubadala
  12. ^ "Sign Up | LinkedIn". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved March 18, 2023.