Find Your Level: A Guide To Being Recruited for College Football From a Former D1 Recruiter

By Trevor Cipriano

If you or someone you love wants to be recruited for college football your journey starts here. Written by a former college football player, recruiting consultant, and NCAA Division I (FBS) recruiter, "Find Your Level" is packed full of valuable information and insider tips all while pulling back the veil on the reclusive world of college recruiting. Navigate the recruiting process with an expert on your side.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483544663

Book preview

Part I

The Basics of Recruiting at Every Level

College football is comprised of many different levels and quite a few governing bodies. The NCAA fields four distinct divisions; The NAIA fields one; and junior colleges are split into two different governing bodies. We will cover each below. In general, the opportunities to play and the recruiting process and rules are different at each division. The quality of competition will vary from level to level but there will always be a few players on each team who could fit in at different levels too. The NFL counts amongst its star players athletes from every division level.

NCAA Division I (FBS)– FBS stands for Football Bowl Subdivision and was formerly known as Division I-A; this is the highest level of competition and is by far the most nationally visible level. They play year-end bowl games instead of participating in an NCAA-run playoff. Examples of FBS programs are Notre Dame, Alabama, Boise State, USC, and Florida to name just a very few.

FBS Schools are allowed to have 85 scholarship athletes

Every FBS scholarship is a full scholarship by rule

FBS schools are allowed to sign a maximum of 25 recruits to a scholarship each year

FBS Schools rosters are usually over 100 athletes and are capped based on budget constraints and/or Title IX considerations

The three service academies are not subject to these rules (Army, Navy, Air Force)

There are 125 FBS programs for 2014; there will be 127 for 2016

The 125 programs belong to one of 10 different conferences or are one of four Independent schools with no conference affiliation

The 10 conferences are unofficially split into two groups: the major conference schools who have the largest budgets, biggest stadiums and fan-bases, and traditionally the best teams. There are five conferences in this category and they are known as the Power 5. The minor conferences are slightly scaled down in size and scope and are generally regional schools.

The ‘Power 5’ are all what used to be known as BCS schools when the BCS system still existed. They are the SEC, The ACC, the Big Ten, The Big 12, and the PAC-12. The ‘Power 5’ will soon be granted additional self-governing powers. They typically recruit a year or two ahead, meaning that they’ve completed most of their recruiting classes by the time prospective student-athletes (henceforth PSAs) start their senior year. They will be just as focused on juniors and sophomores and will also recruit junior college players to transfer in.

The ‘minor’ FBS conferences are: The AAC, the Sun Belt, Conference USA (C-USA), the Mid-American Conference (MAC), and the Mountain West. They too typically recruit about a year ahead finishing most of their class up in the early stages of PSAs’ senior year and split their focus with the junior class as well. Like the ‘Power 5’ schools they will also recruit junior college players to transfer in.

NCAA Division I (FCS)– FCS stands for Football Championship Subdivision and was formerly known as Division I-AA; this is another high level of competition which receives a share of media attention and fan support in local markets. This level plays a traditional playoff format at the end of the season to crown a champion. Examples of FCS programs include University of Northern Iowa (UNI), Eastern Illinois University (EIU), Eastern Washington, Florida A&M, Drake, and Yale.

FCS schools are allowed the equivalency of 63 full scholarship athletes

Unlike FBS schools, FCS schools can divide their 63 scholarships up into fractions, e.g. a half-scholarship, so long as the total number always equals 63.

Every school will approach how they divide the 63 up differently.

Two FCS conferences do not award football scholarships at all: the Ivy League and the Pioneer League.

There are 124 FCS schools for 2014, with 126 planned for 2015