American Football Scholarships
American Football is without doubt the most popular college sport among Americans in terms of spectator numbers . The TV ratings for important games or for any Saturday during the regular season are higher than those of any other sport. To put this into perspective, the University of Michigan has a stadium with a capacity of 107,601 and the games sell out every week, sometimes even well in advance.
How the American Football season works
The American Football season culminates with a series of final games known as the “Bowl Games”, which can best be described as the playoffs for college football. The participants in the Bowl Games are ratified by a select committee, who select the teams based on their record and the strength of their schedule. The four best regular season teams are invited to take part in the newly formed college football semi final games. The final of this tournament is the National Championship Game, the winner of which is crowned the NCAA Division 1 National Champion.
Am I eligible?
Having a high enough GPA or SAT/ACT score is the passport to obtaining an American football scholarship. Achievements on the football field will count for nothing if you do not have the right academic grades. The College Sports America team has the ability and the experience to steer you through the qualification process. It is an integral element of our approach to carefully evaluate and fulfil your personal potential by tailoring a college program to improve your grades if necessary.
American Football Scholarships
American football programs do not consist only of the teams with the biggest budgets, they also are one of the main sources of income for every university. Huge amounts of money are earned from attendances and tv broadcasts, as well as through the sales of jerseys and team merchandise. As a result the number of scholarships that American football teams can offer is by far the highest of any college sport. In the FBS, which is where all the top teams play, teams are allowed to award 85 scholarships, representing 70% of the total team, every year. In the FCS, which is the equivalent of a Division 1b, teams can allocate up to 63 scholarships every year. Division 2 teams still have 36 scholarships available to distribute between their players. So you can see that there are plenty of scholarships available if you have the right skills level or the right attributes that a coach is looking for.
NCAA American Football rules
Because of the mandatory NFL rule, that a player needs to compete in college for three years before he can enter the NFL draft, all great NFL players have come through the college system. This guarantees very exciting games to watch every year and keeps the level of play very high year in and year out. However, less experienced players should not be afraid to go to America to play American Football, as more and more coaches try to find the “diamond in the rough“, by looking at a player’s potential and ability to improve rather than just simply at the statistics.
Here are some more important facts about college football and football scholarships:
- Number of NCAA Div 1 american football teams: FBS – 129, FCS – 125
- Number of NCAA Div 2 american football teams: 171
- Total Number of american football teams (all divisions): 900
- Total number of college football players: c. 90000
- Scholarship limit per team: D1 FBS: 85, D1 FCS: 63, D2: 36, NAIA: 12, NJCAA: 24
- Former college football players: Peyton Manning, Aaron Rogers, Tom Brady, John Elway, Brett Favre, Dan Marino, Jerry Rice, Emmit Smith