THE OFFICIAL ATHLETICS SITE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA LIONS

A native of Columbus, Ga., Steele was a three-year letterman as a wide receiver in football for the Lions from 1975-77 and also played one season of baseball.

He went on to become the first UNA Lion to play in a Super Bowl when he played with the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

While at UNA, he caught four passes for 45 yards while battling knee injuries in 1975, had 30 catches for 566 yards and five touchdowns in 1976 and had 24 catches for 386 yards and one TD as a senior. He was selected second-team All-Gulf South Conference in 1976 and first-team All-GSC as a senior in 1977.

Steele signed a free agent contract with the defending Super Bowl Champion Cowboys in 1978 and became the only free agent out of eighty to make the 45-man roster. The Cowboys, led by head coach Tom Landry and quarterback Roger Staubach, returned to Super Bowl XIII where Steele was part of a receiving corp that included Drew Pearson, Tony Hill and Butch Johnson. Steele held for extra points and field goals and started every game on special teams.

In 1979 he played for the Minnesota Vikings. being awarded a game ball against the Tampa Buccaneers for blocking a punt which resulted in a game winning touchdown.

In all, Steele played in 30 games during his NFL career. Following his time in the NFL, Steele moved on to become a leader in insurance, benefits and healthcare fields with technology being his primary focus. 

Steele currently serves as President of Steele Financial Group, a healthcare technology sales and marketing company.  Steele began his business career in his hometown of Columbus, Ga., where he pioneered technology solutions for the insurance and benefits industries. This led to the creation of his third technology company and founded Primewire in 1998. After a successful sale of the company, Steele became Vice President of Strategic Accounts-Sales at Ingenix from 2004-06, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer at Med-Vantage from 2006-08 and was Senior Vice President of Sales at Verisk Health from 2008-13. Steele also founded EmpowHR, a company delivering web-based benefit administration services to client employers managed by brokers, consultants, TPAs, PEOs, payroll companies and marketing corporations. In his current role at Steele Financial Group, Steele led the development of the private exchange platform for Quadrant 4 which has become the standard of the industry. Named to the UNA Team of the Decade for 1969-78, Steele authored a book in 2011 entitled Steele Here, An Underdog's Secret to Success, which detailed his journey to earn a spot on the Dallas Cowboys and his later success in the business world.  Steele also served in the Georgia State Legislature as an elected state representative for two years from 1989-90. He has four children and two grand children and resides in Las Vegas, Nev.