2024 NFF SHOWCASE DATES
Feb. 10 –
Houston
Feb. 17 –
Arizona (Surprise)
Feb. 24 –
Southern California (Irvine)
Feb. 24 –
South Florida (Miami Gardens)
Mar. 9 –
Nevada (Henderson)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Events are free to both participants and college recruiters.
- NFF Showcases are expected to connect more than 1,200 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 2024.
- Participants have annually received millions in scholarships since the program's inception in 2009.
- Events have collectively reached 14,250 players since the first event in 2009 with one in four landing on college rosters or approximately 3,560 student athletes enrolled in college.
IRVING, Texas (Feb. 8, 2024) – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame highlighted today that five NFF High School Showcases in Houston, Arizona, Southern California, South Florida, and an inaugural event in Nevada will take place between Feb. 10 and March 9. The five events will provide hundreds of high school seniors from across the nation a chance to earn grants-in-aid and/or scholarships at the divisional level. Collectively, the participants are expected to be offered 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 1,200 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. After the drills, the coaches have an opportunity to interview players who caught their attention to see if their school might be a match. 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 high school coaches in 2009, the concept expanded to Southern California in 2013. Florida joined in 2017, Arizona in 2023 and Nevada for the first time in 2024. Other sites in the past have included Atlanta, Charlotte (NC) and Detroit. Collectively, the organizers anticipate the five events in 2024 will reach more than 1,200 seniors with an estimated one-in-four receiving some kind of financial aid to go to college.
Feb. 10 – The 16th Annual Houston Texans Senior Showcase Fueled by Gatorade will take place Saturday, Feb. 10, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. 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 Houston Aldine High School; and
Chris Vaughan, a board member of the NFF Touchdown Club of Houston Chapter. The Houston event receives support from the Houston Texans and the McNair family as well as the TaxAct Texas Bowl and Executive Director
David Fletcher, who also serves on the board of the NFF Touchdown Club of Houston. Notable former players who have volunteered include
Dallas Griffin (Texas and the 2007 NFF Campbell Trophy winner),
Robert Hubble (Rice),
N.D. Kalu (Rice), and well-known Texas high school coaches
Dick Olin and the late
Sonny Detmer.
Feb. 17 –
The Second Annual Arizona Senior Showcase will be held Saturday, Feb. 17 at Spirit Field at Ottawa University in Surprise, Arizona. The NFF Southern Arizona Chapter (NFFSAC) has taken the lead in organizing the event with the support of the athletics administrators at Ottawa and former college coaches
Tim Kish and
Mick McCall. Former players
Ricky Elmore (Arizona),
Alonzo Highsmith, Jr. (Arkansas),
John Kaiser (Arizona),
Chuck Levy (Arizona), who all played in the NFL, will be assisting at the event as part of the coaching staff. Kish became president of the NFFSAC chapter in 2022, helping to build key support for the event. Organizers anticipate more than 20 colleges will have representatives on site and more than 150 participants will take advantage of the opportunity.
Feb. 24 – The 11th Annual Terry Donahue Memorial California Showcase will take place Saturday, Feb. 24, 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 passed away in 2021. Coach Donahue had tapped many former college coaches and players to help run the drills, and they have kept his legacy alive by continuing to stage the event. More than $40 million in scholarships have been awarded to 1,100 participants since the event's inception. This year, representatives from more than 60 colleges are expected to attend with more than 400 athletes on site. 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),
Jay Schroeder (UCLA),
John Sciarra (UCLA, College Football Hall of Fame inductee and NFF National Scholar-Athlete),
Cade McNown (UCLA and College Football Hall of Fame inductee),
Rick Neuheisel (UCLA),
Lester Towns (Washington) and
James Washington (UCLA).
Feb. 24 – The 8th Annual Orange Bowl Florida High School Football Showcase, Presented by Baptist Health, will occur Saturday, Feb. 24, at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida. The 2024 South Florida event will take place behind the leadership of Orange Bowl Committee, President & Chairman
Bradley D. Houser, CEO
Eric Poms and Showcase subcommittee chair
David Armstrong. More than $8 million has been awarded to more than 400 participants over the event's seven-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),
Larry Little (Bethune-Cookman),
Nat Moore (Florida),
John Offerdahl (Western Michigan),
Brady Quinn (Notre Dame),
Twan Russell (Miami),
Dwight Stephenson (Alabama),
Patrick Surtain (Southern Mississippi).
Mar. 9 – The Inaugural Las Vegas Raiders Senior Showcase will take place Saturday, March 9, at the Raiders Headquarters and Intermountain Health Performance Center in Henderson, Nevada. The event is being spearheaded by former UCLA QB
Jay Schroeder, who played for Coach Terry Donahue and the Bruins in the 1980s and then in the NFL, including from 1988-92 with the Raiders. Schroeder has been an active participant in the Showcases since Coach Donahue launched the California Showcase and subsequently lending his support to the events in Houston and Arizona as well.
"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."
Sixteen years ago, the NFF Touchdown Club of Houston Chapter joined forces with 75 high school coaches from the Houston Independent School District to stage the first Showcase. And over the years with the longstanding support of the Houston Texans, the event has enabled more than 7,000 high school seniors to market their academic and athletic skills to coaches from the Division II, III and NAIA football schools. Houston organizers estimate more than 1,500 participants have landed more than $160 million in scholastic aid during the events' history.
Wanting to give back to the community that supported him during a 20-year run as the UCLA head coach and with the great support of his family, the late Coach Terry Donahue assembled an impressive array of former coaches and players from multiple colleges and universities to stage the first California Showcase in 2013. More than 4,000 students have attended the event during its first decade, and organizers have tracked 1,110 attendees who have received an estimated $40 million in financial aid from recruiters from a cumulative 150 colleges and universities in 27 states.
"'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 has continued 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 1,100 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. The late
Bob Epling, who served in leadership positions with both organizations, helped lay the groundwork for the first event in South Florida alongside Hatchell, who was the Orange Bowl Executive Director from 1987 to 1993 before becoming the NFF President & CEO.
"The Orange Bowl Committee is extremely proud to be able to once again provide this unprecedented opportunity for our local high school student-athletes," said
Orange Bowl Committee President & Chair Bradley D. Houser. "Our continuing goal is to provide kids additional exposure so they can hopefully secure financial aid for college and ultimately earn a college degree, and the event has been extremely successful over the last seven years."
Kish, who coached for eight years at Arizona before finishing out his career at Oklahoma, was not familiar with the NFF until he returned to the Tucson area to retire. The local chapter approached him to get involved, and before he knew it, he was on the board and then NFF Southern Arizona Chapter President. Kish has aggressively begun transforming the chapter with multiple initiatives, including the Showcase.
"At the end of the day, I am extremely motivated even if we're only helping a couple kids to continue their educations," said Kish. "I am super stoked for these kids who will have the opportunity to continue their educations because of football… We have been using the hashtag 'HelmetOnHelmetOff' to promote the Showcase and all the activities of the Southern Arizona Chapter, stressing that we will stay with these young people from when they begin playing football until they finish playing football. We are creating as many opportunities as possible for our student-athletes to be successful, and in turn, hopefully inspiring them to be future leaders who positively impact our community."
Additional notable former players and coaches who have volunteered at past events include
Charles Arbuckle (UCLA),
Mike Farr (UCLA),
Sam Farr, Jr. (UCLA),
Brian "BJ" Jones (UCLA),
Greg McElroy (Alabama and 2010 NFF National Scholar-Athlete) and
Reggie Moore (UCLA).
Click the following links for recent coverage of the events:
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 Capital One Orange Bowl on Jan. 9, 2025. For more information on the 2024-25 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 in 47 states, NFF programs include the criteria, selection and induction of members of the College Football Hall of Fame; 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; the NFF National High School Academic Excellence Awards presented by the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation & Hatchell Cup presented by the Original Bob's Steak & Chop House; and a series of programs and initiatives to honor the legends of the past and inspire the leaders of the future. NFF corporate partners include Bruin Capital, Catapult, Delta Air Lines, Fidelity Investments, Hampshire Companies, Hanold Associates Executive Search, Jostens, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, New York Athletic Club, Pasadena Tournament of Roses and the Sports Business Journal. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @NFFNetwork and learn more at footballfoundation.org.
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