It has not been a great year for high school football players across the country.
With the Pandemic cutting into everything – especially football – many of these prospects are sitting here without a place to go.
They were told if you get grades, work hard and do everything told of you, a college scholarship would certainly be in your future. This pandemic has certainly stopped recruiting for non-star athletes.
On Saturday, February 13, the Orange Bowl Florida High School Football Showcase presented by Tire Kingdom will take place at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens.
This free, one-day event is conducted in association with the National Football Foundation (NFF) and its local chapters (there are five other similar events in various markets nationwide), and will bring together academically qualified high school seniors from Florida and football coaches from NCAA Division II, III and NAIA programs across the country, which provides an unprecedented opportunity for young student-athletes to use their athletic and academic skills to earn collegiate scholarships, and ultimately a college degree.
The Showcase is completely free for all student-athletes and college coaches, and precautionary health measures are being put into place to ensure everyone’s safety.
In the event’s first four years, more than $4 million in scholarships and financial aid has been awarded to high school student-athletes to study and play football at the collegiate level. Nearly 300 student-athletes have been recruited by colleges and universities since the inception of the event.
Last year, the Showcase had 40 colleges and over 200 student-athletes in attendance, 45 of which received over an estimated $1 million in financial aid. Since inception, St. Thomas University has recruited the most student-athletes from the event by awarding financial aid to a total of 29 student-athletes.
“The Orange Bowl Florida High School Football Showcase is a tremendous opportunity for college programs across the country to witness and meet directly with the incredibly talented and academically-qualified football players all over South Florida that may have been overlooked during the recruiting process,” said Orange Bowl Committee President & Chair Jack Seiler. “Holding the event this year is especially important because many high school football players have not had the same amount of exposure as they normally would have; in organizing and hosting our Showcase, the Orange Bowl Committee is extremely excited for these scholar-athletes and their families as we provide this exciting opportunity to receive financial aid to attend college.”
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To be eligible to participate in the 2021 Showcase, student-athletes must be graduating high school seniors who have not accepted a scholarship offer from a NCAA Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision) program. In addition, they must meet the following academic qualifications:
. Earn a 2.5 GPA or higher in 16 Core Courses (please visit www.ncaa.org/student-athletes/future/core-courses for a description of NCAA Eligible Core Courses); AND
. Earn an SAT score of 920 (math and verbal only) or higher; OR
. Have a composite ACT Score of 18 or higher or a sum score of 68 or higher
The 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: youth sports, fundraising and community events, academic programs and scholarships, and legacy gifts. The Orange Bowl features a year-round schedule of events culminating with the Capital One Orange Bowl on Dec. 31, 2021. For more information on the 2021 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.