ESPN.com · Dec 19, 2016
Trump taps Fla. Panthers owner for Army post
President-elect Donald J. Trump has nominated Florida Panthers owner Vincent Viola as secretary of the Army.
In a statement Monday, Trump said Viola is "living proof of the American dream." Viola grew up in a family of Italian immigrants in Brooklyn. His father worked as a truck driver.
Viola is a 1977 West Point graduate. He trained as an Airborne Ranger infantry officer and served in the 101st Airborne Division. He is a graduate of New York Law School. In 2003, he founded and helped fund the creation of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.
Viola bought the Panthers for about $250 million in 2013.