Date	Location
Jan. 31	Houston
Feb. 14	Arizona (Surprise)
Feb. 21	Southern California (Irvine)
Feb. 28	South Florida (Miami Gardens)

  

• 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 2026. 
• Participants have annually received millions in scholarships since the program's inception in 2009.
• Events have collectively reached 17,450 players since the first event in 2009 with one in four landing on college rosters or approximately 4,250 student athletes enrolled in college. 

IRVING, Texas (Jan. 28, 2026) – The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame highlighted today that four NFF High School Showcases in Houston, Arizona, Southern California and South Florida will take place between Jan. 31 and Feb. 28. The four events will provide hundreds of high school seniors from across the nation a chance to earn 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 deserve immense praise for their dedication to expanding opportunities for young athletes to earn college degrees with football opening the door," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. "Their efforts have built a free system that has literally provided thousands of talented student-athletes the chance to continue their educations. These Showcases have created a critical pathway to college that simply didn't exist before, especially for those who didn't sign at the Division I level but still dream of playing college football. It's a tremendous difference-maker for so many kids and their families."
 
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 and Arizona in 2023. Other sites in the past have included Atlanta, Charlotte (NC) and Detroit. Collectively, the organizers anticipate the four events in 2026 will reach more than 1,200 seniors with an estimated one-in-four receiving some kind of financial aid to go to college.

Jan. 31: The 18th Annual Houston Texans Senior Showcase Fueled by Gatorade  will take place Saturday, Jan. 31, at the Texans Methodist Training Center next to 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 Kinder's 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), Cecil Short III (Mount Union [OH]), and well-known Texas high school coaches Dick Olin and the late Sonny Detmer. Organizers estimate the event has resulted in 1,406 scholarships and generated $164 million in scholastic aid since 2009.

Feb. 14: The Fourth Annual Arizona Senior Showcase will be held Saturday, Feb. 14 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, Mike Hankwitz, Mick McCall, and Gary Bernardi. Former players John Kaiser (Arizona) and Chuck Levy (Arizona), who both played in the NFL, are among the people who are helping as part of the coaching staff. Kish became president of the NFFSAC chapter in 2022, helping to build key support for the event. The event has generated more than $12 million in financial packages, with one out of every three participants earning a spot on a college roster.

Feb. 21: The 13^th Annual Terry Donahue Memorial California Showcase will take place Saturday, Feb. 21, at the 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 $46 million in scholarships have been awarded to more than 1,300 participants since the event's inception at 160 colleges. 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. 28: The 9th Annual Orange Bowl Florida High School Football Showcase presented by Baptist Health, will occur Feb. 28, at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida. The 2026 South Florida event will take place behind the leadership of Orange Bowl Committee, President & Chairman Michael E. Moran, CEO Eric Poms and Showcase subcommittee chair Dave Shula. More than $9 million has been awarded to more than 400 participants over the event's nine-year history. Other volunteers who have supported the event include and Glenn Blackwood (Texas), 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).

"The NFF High School Showcases are a testament to the transformative power of football," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "By offering these events for free, we're ensuring that all student-athletes, regardless of their financial situation, have an equal shot at a college education. It's not just about football; it's about creating opportunities, building futures, and making a lasting impact on families and communities. Seeing these kids walk away with scholarship offers and a renewed sense of possibility is why we do what we do."
 
Eighteen 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 6,366 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 1,406 participants have landed more than $164 million in scholastic aid during the events' history.
 
Wanting to give back to the community that supported him during a 20-year NFF Hall of Fame 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 4,800 students have attended the event since its inception, and organizers have tracked 1,300 attendees who have received an estimated $46 million in financial aid from recruiters from a cumulative 160 colleges and universities in 35 states. The event scored a major success in 2024 when 2018 attendee CJ Ravenell, who played high school football at Golden Valley High School in Santa Clarita, California, and in college at Missouri Western State in St. Joseph, Missouri, made it to the NFL, playing the 2025 season with the Tennessee Titans.

"'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 1,300 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.

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 to help the kids who attend our event," 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).
 
ABOUT THE ORANGE BOWL
Orange Bowl is a primarily volunteer non-profit sports organization with more than 410 members 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's community outreach is embodied by the four pillars of its Orange Bowl Cares program: Youth Sports, Education, Community Engagement, and Legacy Programs. Orange Bowl features a year-round schedule of events culminating with the Capital One Orange Bowl. For more information about Orange Bowl events, including promotional inquiries and volunteer opportunities through the Ambassador Program, log on to orangebowl.org or follow @OrangeBowl and @OrangeBowlCares 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 journalist Grantland Rice, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) is a nonprofit organization that leverages the power of amateur football to build leaders. With 120 chapters in 47 states, the NFF oversees initiatives such as the NFF College Football Hall of Fame, the William V. Campbell Trophy®, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards Presented by Fidelity Investments, Future For Football, and I Played. Learn more at footballfoundation.org and follow @NFFNetwork on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.