Eastern Washington University Athletics

Ackerman was an All-American at Eastern in 1995 and went on to play eight seasons in the National Football League. He came to Eastern after graduating in 1991 from Nooksack Valley High School in Northeastern Washington, and would later be joined on the offensive line by his younger brother T.J. (1995-98). With a total of 32 games started and 43 games played, Tom started three games as a freshman in 1992, seven in 1993 and 11 each as a junior and senior. In his junior season he started five games at right tackle, four at left tackle and two at center, and as a senior he started at guard. In addition, he was a long snapper and began his career as a tight end. He helped Eastern win 21 games in his four years as an Eagle, including a 7-4 record and the Big Sky Conference championship in his freshman season and a 7-3 mark the following year. He earned third team NCAA FCS All-America honors in 1995 after earning first team All-Big Sky honors. Ackerman was the 145th pick overall by New Orleans in the 1996 NFL Draft and was the first offensive lineman in Washington and the Big Sky Conference to be taken. He played six seasons with New Orleans and the 2002 and 2003 seasons with Tennessee. He played in 105 career games, including 21 as a starter.  Mainly used as a special teams player his first two seasons in the NFL, he appeared in 14 games in 1997 after playing in two games as a rookie in 1996. He started at center in 10 of the 15 games he played in 1998, and in 1999, he played in eight games as a starter and eight as a reserve. Following the 1999 season, he signed a four-year, $6.89 million contract to remain with the New Orleans Saints, then played as a backup in 15 games in 2000 and 16 in 2001 before leaving the team. He was signed by the Oakland Raiders on May 22, 2002, but was released and signed with Tennessee. In 2002, he played in 11 games and started three for the Titans, who advanced to the AFC Championship Game and finished the season 12-6. In 2003, he played in 16 games as a backup. He eventually helped coach offensive linemen at Eastern and assisted with EWU’s strength and conditioning program. He helped coach the Spokane Shock in Arena Football 2 (af2) and has also been involved with the Michael Roos Foundation. He was selected by the Eastern Athletic Department to the “100 for 100” All-Time Football Team, which was honored on Sept. 27, 2008, to commemorate Eastern’s 100th year of football.