Football has become America’s national sport. Perhaps the only one that could probably compete for this title is basketball. Because of this, most colleges are willing to invest in their football players in the form of tuition fee grants.

However, being able to get a college football scholarship is very hard as the process is very competitive. With up to 1.1 million football players from high school hoping to get one, there are only at most 184 scholarship grants available for college football players. Unfortunately, the actual available slots go lower than this if you would consider that there are already senior college players who had already availed a scholarship.

It is therefore a must that you should set your sights on an athletic scholarship early on. Hone your skills so that you will be able to be noticed by the recruiters. Furthermore, make sure to keep your grades high as almost all of the colleges require a certain GPA to qualify for their football program.

The best part of availing a college football scholarship is being able to get a college degree for free while playing the sport you love. So get in the huddle and blitz your way to that college diploma.

1. Do a personal assessment. Evaluate your abilities, talents and reasons for wanting to play in college. Also what type of college are you searching for athletically and academically.
2. What level can you play at? Put your ego aside and do a real evaluation of your talent and what you want out of a college athletic career. Do you want to play at the biggest college possible and risk sitting the bench? Or are you happy with a smaller school where you can play all four years?
3. Develop a personal recruiting packet. This should contain a athletic cover letter, athletic resume and video highlight and game films. You can do this better and cheaper than any company or service that charges you money to post an online profile or make a highlight tape for you.
4. Initiate contact with colleges. Follow a system that will maximize your exposure to colleges and play the recruiting game on the college coach’s level. This will put you above the thousands of other recruits fighting for the same spots.
5. Communicate and follow through. It is often difficult for high school students to communicate with college coaches. You must mature quickly during this process and ask the right questions and have the correct answers to show the coaches you are the player for them. It is also difficult to keep the drive and determination to get an offer late into the recruiting season if you have already been turned down multiple times.

High school athletes who are able to follow a game plan throughout the entire recruiting season are the ones who ultimately end up with a scholarship. It takes a lot of work but if you are willing to be mature and keep your dream alive, you will be able to earn a football scholarship and play in college.

NCAA football has grown into a professional industry and need people that are qualified to work for them.

Whether it’s the actual team or companies that work with the NCAA, all the organizations are looking for employees. So here are seven steps to make your dream come true and work in Division 1 football.

1. Communication skills: The sports industry involves a lot of communication between businesses. Being able to communicate efficiently with clients and employees is crucial. Public speaking skills are also a must because presentations are daily in the industry and will only make you that much more competitive in the job market.

2. Computer Fundamentals: Because of the new age of technology, everyone uses computers and cell phones. There is no avoiding these trends, so its imperative that computer skills are up to date. The majority of companies are familiar with the Microsoft package which includes; Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher and Word. Knowledge to other software will only increase opportunities in the sports field.

3. Education: The first priority to being hired in the sports industry is a Bachelor’s degree. It doesn’t have to be sport management but four years is need to work for companies. Degrees that are also applicable are Economics, Accounting, and any Business degree. Having a Sport Management degree is the best way to go if working in sports is your dream.

4. Management and Organizational: In the fast pace of the sport industry, individuals have their own schedule and projects that need to be completed. This is why time management and organizational skills are a must. Most of the work in the industry is individual. Being on time in the college sports industry is a must as well because deadlines need to be met. It also looks better when you don’t need to look through papers when giving a presentation, its really saying that you care about your work.

5. Attitude: Not all jobs are illustrious and fancy in the sport field. Working long hours will go un-noticed but don’t worry because in the long run it will pay off. Everyone that enters the field has to do the grunt work first but it gets consistently easier the more experience you get. Stay up and stay active and take criticism and build from it. As an intern for a team there are many unique things to do. Some of them include:

• Creating game day flyer’s to create interest from fans
• Get fans involved by embarrassing yourself
• Doing large amounts of paper work that others don’t want
• Help the players out in any way possible

6. Leading the pack: A great way to separate you from other workers is taking initiative. This couldn’t be a better impression on high executives. No matter if its is an entry level job or upper management job, being a leader is a great quality to have. Working out of the box will make you a better employee for your company. By doing this other will follow you and everyone will be able to create a product that everyone can enjoy. It just depends how much work you are willing to put into your job.

7. Work: College football is all about work. Players are grinding all season long to win a national championship so this means they need people to support them. Work ethic is a must and a little tenacity doesn’t hurt either. Putting in a complete day is when all the work is finished, not when the bell rings. The demand for work for college football needs to be there everyday.

With these simple steps you can be competitive in the college football industry. From sun up to sun down, total effort is need not only from players but from management as well. This industry is always growing looking for the next big thing to produce and with these rules you could possible create that next big something in the NCAA. So go and win a job and possible a national championship!