One can never be too old to pursue higher education, and that is what 58-year-old Tom Cillo is trying to do. He dropped out of high school in the 1980s to do drugs and then worked for the city government, and he is now pursuing a college degree at Lycoming College. He is also playing Division III college football there.
Division III Lycoming College has a 58-year-old freshman defensive lineman.
In the 1980’s, Tom Cillo quit high school football to do drugs, then worked for a city’s streets and parks department for 33 years.
Now, he’s fulfilling his dream of being a college football player. pic.twitter.com/R1dT3B8RQq
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 18, 2025
Tom Cillo is now going viral for even trying to play a highly physical contact sport like football at his age, and he is even playing as a defensive lineman, a position that requires a lot of physicality and athleticism. His unique story has made Tom Cillo the talk of the internet:
“Feel sorry for the 20 year old that loses playing time to him. He’ll never live that down.” commented one X user commented on the X post made by Front Office Sports.
“18-19 year olds may have youth and athleticism, but I would build my team around dudes in their 50s with grown man strength, carrying mortgages, five years of anger dealing with “Teams” chats, and the fire in their bellies of a teenage daughter starting to date and/or leveraging their 401k to pay for his eldest daughters wedding,” one person noted.
“Drugs didn’t turn out as expected so he’s back to the dream,” one impressed person said.
“Anything is possible. Lead and develop the next generation for the life outside of college. Have a great career 🙌🏾🙌🏾” added one commenter.
“Fresh with the New Balance. Too real,” said another person.
“Hopefully he earns some playing time.,” hoped another one.
58-Year-Old Tom Cillo Is In Tiptop Shape And Was A Bodybuilder Before Pursuing College Football Dream
Tom Cillo is now retired after 33 years working for his city’s Streets and Parks department as a general manager. He also referees basketball games part-time and runs half-marathons in addition to being a bodybuilder. However, he always had an itch for college football, so he enrolled as a freshman at Lycoming College and tried out for the football team.
“I was going through the same motions day after day and I felt like I needed a change. And what does a 58-year-old dude do when they want change? They go play college football, right?” he said. “The academic side is important to me too, because there are things I still want to prove to myself in life … clearly that’s one of those items.”
He has been competing in various disciplines, including half marathons, triathlons, strongman contests, bodybuilding, competitive powerlifting, and trail runs. However, Cillo has admitted that he found college football to be the hardest of all.
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