• Events are free to both participants and college recruiters.
• NFF Showcases are expected to connect more than 1,000 high school seniors with coaches from more than 100 colleges and universities from the NCAA Division II, III and NAIA levels, landing more than 250 scholarships for participants in 2022. 
• Participants have annually received millions in scholarships since the program's inception in 2009. 
• Events have collectively reached 11,950 players since the first event in 2009 with one in four landing on college rosters or approximately 2,975 student athletes enrolled in college.
• Click to read a special Los Angeles Times article featuring the contributions of College Football Hall of Fame Coach Terry Donahue who passed away this past year. 

IRVING, Texas (Feb. 3, 2022) – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame highlighted the three upcoming NFF High School Showcases in Houston, Southern California and South Florida, which will provide hundreds of high school seniors a chance to earn scholarships. The upcoming three events will take place between Feb. 5 and Feb. 12 with participants collectively receiving millions in academic and participation scholarships for their freshman year.
 
The NFF High School Showcases, which are absolutely free to both participants and college recruiters, provide academically eligible high school seniors who did not sign an NCAA Division I letter of intent an opportunity to go through a series of drills in front of divisional college coaches from the NCAA Division II, III and the NAIA levels. Local organizers anticipate the events will collectively attract representatives from more than 100 colleges covering 30 states, coupling them with more than 1,000 aspiring college players this year who are expected to land millions of dollars in academic and participation scholarships.
 
"The leaders in these cities all deserve huge praise for their efforts to expand opportunities for kids to earn their college degrees with football opening the door," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. "­Their leadership has helped build a free system, literally providing thousands of talented student-athletes the opportunity to continue their educations. The Showcases provide a great path to college that previously did not exist. It's a huge difference maker, especially for those who did not sign at the Division I level but would love to still play college football."
 
Participants, who all have to meet minimum academic standards, compete in a series of athletic drills designed to let divisional college coaches assess each player's potential, including a 40-yard dash and several agility and strength tests. The events allow the college recruiters a unique opportunity to evaluate a large number of qualified student-athletes in a short period while minimizing their travel costs.
 
Launched by a group of Houston coaches in 2009, the concept expanded to Southern California in 2013. Florida joined in 2017. Collectively, the organizers anticipate the three events in 2022 will reach more than 1,000 seniors with an estimated one-in-four receiving some kind of financial aid to go to college.
 
Feb. 5 – The 14th Annual Houston Texans Senior Showcase will take place Saturday, Feb. 5, at the Texans Methodist Training Center next door to NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The originator of the Showcase concept, the event in Houston was founded by Phil Camp, the former head football coach at Milby High School in Houston; Coby Rhoden, an academic coordinator at Aldine High School; Chris Vaughan, a member of the NFF Touchdown Club of Houston Chapter; and Daryl Wade, the former athletics director for the Houston Independent School District. The Houston event receives additional support from the Houston Texans and minority owner Javier Loya and the TaxAct Texas Bowl and Executive Director David Fletcher.
 
Feb. 12 – The 9^th Annual Terry Donahue Memorial California Showcase will take place Saturday, Feb. 12, at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California. The event was launched in 2013 by College Football Hall of Fame Coach Terry Donahue, who sadly passed away this past July. Coach Donahue had tapped many former college coaches and players to help run the drills. More than $35 million in scholarships have been awarded to 1,005 participants since the event's inception. This year, representatives from more than 60 colleges are expected to attend. Notables who have volunteered in the past include Steve Beuerlein (Notre Dame), Jim Everett (Purdue), Vince Ferragamo (Nebraska and an NFF National Scholar-Athlete), Nick Foles (Arizona), Rick Neuheisel (UCLA), Lester Towns (Washington) and James Washington (UCLA).
 
Feb. 12 – The 6^th Annual Orange Bowl Florida High School Football Showcase, Presented by Baptist Health, will occur Saturday, Feb. 12, at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida. The 2022 South Florida event will take place behind the leadership of Orange Bowl Committee, President & Chairman Frank Gonzalez, CEO Eric Poms and Showcase subcommittee chair and former University of Miami linebacker Tony Coley. More than $6 million has been awarded to 300 participants over the event's six-year history. Other volunteers who have supported the event include and Glenn Blackwood (Texas), Henri Crockett (Florida State), Channing Crowder (Florida), Troy Drayton (Penn State), Jim Gainey (Florida), Nat Moore (Florida), John Offerdahl (Western Michigan), Brady Quinn (Notre Dame), Twan Russell (Miami), Dwight Stephenson (Alabama), Patrick Surtain (Southern Mississippi).

The NFF Showcases have produced hundreds of success stories, including Jarell Carter who in 2017 became the first known NFF High School Showcase participant to ever make an NFL roster with the Arizona Cardinals after landing a scholarship at the 2013 Houston event to Trinity International University (IL); Caleb Thomas, who set multiple NAIA records as a wide receiver after receiving a scholarship at the 2017 Orange Bowl Showcase to Graceland University (IA); Cedric Whitaker, who garnered a scholarship at the 2011 Houston event to Texas Lutheran and now coaches the secondary with the Carolina Panthers in the NFL; and Mitchell Nickovich, who was a two-time SCIAC All-Academic Team member from the University of Redlands (CA) after being recruited during the 2016 California Showcase.

"Most of these types of events around the country charge a fee to participate, excluding a lot of great kids who can't afford the price of admission," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "The NFF Showcases provide all student-athletes, no matter their means, an opportunity to pursue the dream of attending college, and it's a highly cost-effective way for us to make a huge difference in the lives of hundreds of kids. And the impact has been nothing short of phenomenal."

Fourteen years ago, Coach Camp and the NFF Touchdown Club of Houston Chapter joined forces with 75 coaches from the Houston Independent School District to stage the first Showcase. And every year since, the Houston event has enabled hundreds of high school seniors to market their academic and athletic skills to coaches from the Division II, III and NAIA football schools.

"We have had people come together all across the country to create opportunities for young men to continue their educations through hard work and dedication," Camp said. "The Houston Showcase alone has produced over $100 million in scholarships and grants in aid during the past 14 years, which has enabled young men to go to college, get their educations, graduate, and come back and make huge contributions in their communities."
 
Inspired by the success of the Houston event, the late Coach Donahue assembled an impressive array of former coaches and players from multiple colleges and universities in 2013, introducing the first California Showcase. Since the California event's inception in 2013, more than 3,300 students have attended the Showcase, with 1,005 receiving an estimated $35 million in financial aid.
 
"'Opportunity is one of the most precious gifts of life.  How we respond when it is given to us, and how often we can provide it to others, can define our lives,'" Pat Donahue recalled his brother often saying.  Pat co-founded the California Showcase with his late brother, Terry Donahue, and will continue to chair the event in his honor. "No one did more with the opportunities presented to him and very few have provided such opportunity to so many others. Over 1,000 kids have gone to college from Coach's work with the California Showcase. There will be thousands more as we carry on his legacy of providing opportunity."
 
Hearing about the success of the Showcases in Houston and Southern California, the Orange Bowl Committee in South Florida approached the NFF in 2017 about launching an event. The Orange Bowl, which ranks among the top local sports organizations in the country with an impressive reputation for supporting a wide range of community events, has strong ties to the NFF. Bob Epling, an Orange Bowl Committee (OBC) past president who was the first chair of the OBC's Showcase subcommittee, serves on the NFF Board, and Hatchell served as the Orange Bowl executive director from 1987 to 1993.
 
"South Florida is home to an incredible array of talented student-athletes both on the field and in the classroom, who are looking to use their athletic ability to secure a college education, beyond those who receive Division I scholarships," said Orange Bowl Committee President & Chair Frank Gonzalez. "Orange Bowl is proud to be able to assist in this endeavor by pairing these student-athletes with schools from around the country in a single-day combine-type setting. We have achieved tremendous success so far with student-athletes earning $6 million in financial assistance as a direct result of our Showcase."
 
Additional notable former players and coaches who have volunteered at past events include: Dallas Griffin (Texas and the 2007 NFF Campbell Trophy winner), Robert Hubble (Rice), N.D. Kalu (Rice), Larry Little (Bethune-Cookman), Greg McElroy (Alabama and 2010 NFF National Scholar-Athlete), Cade McNown (UCLA and 2020 College Football Hall of Fame inductee), Jay Schroeder (UCLA) and well-known Texas high school coaches Sonny Detmer and Dick Olin.
 
ABOUT ORANGE BOWL
Orange Bowl is a 380-member, primarily-volunteer non-profit sports organization that promotes and serves the South Florida community. With its primary mission since being created in 1935 to bring tourism to South Florida through an annual football game and events, it has also maintained a legacy of charitable contributions and community outreach. Orange Bowl community outreach efforts are comprised of four pillars through its Orange Bowl Cares program: Youth Sports, Education, Community Engagement and Legacy Programs. Orange Bowl features a year-round schedule of events culminating with 2022 Capital One Orange Bowl on Dec. 30. For more information on the 2022 Orange Bowl events, including promotional inquiries and volunteer opportunities through the Ambassador Program presented by Panera Bread, log on to orangebowl.org or follow @OrangeBowl on social media.
 
ABOUT The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Future for Football, The William V. Campbell Trophy®, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments and a series of initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include Catapult, Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments, Goodyear, Jostens, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the New York Athletic Club and the Sports Business Journal. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @NFFNetwork and learn more at footballfoundation.org.