The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame distributed its annual release that highlights the impactful numbers on the state of football, including key stats from the high school, collegiate and NFL levels.
“As thrilling and exciting as the action is on the football field, the NFF takes great pride in promoting the educational opportunities created by our sport,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “Our football by the numbers release helps quantify some of those opportunities, and we hope the stats will inspire the next generation to take full advantage of the opportunities created by our sport. As it’s often said, college is not about just the four years in school but its impact on your career for the next forty.”
As the 2023 season approaches, the NFF anticipates that more than one million students will take the field at 15,810 high schools and another 81,000 will play college football at 773 four-year institutions with another 16 colleges and universities having announced plans to add teams in the coming years.
NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION (EST. 1947)
120 Chapters in 47 States Representing Over 6,000 High Schools and 600,000(+) Players (est. 1957)
65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas at the Aria Resort and Casino on December 5, 2023
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
15,800* High Schools in the U.S. that Sponsor Football
(as of 2021-22 Season, National Federation of State High School Associations)
1.04 Million* High School Football Players in the U.S.
(as of 2021-22 Season, National Federation of State High School Associations)
7.8 Percent of High School Football Players will Play in College
2,584 High Schools in the U.S. Sponsor Girls Tackle Football
(as of 2021-22 Season, National Federation of State High School Associations)
*Note: These numbers do not include private and/or parochial high schools that do not report to the state high school association
COLLEGE FOOTBALL (EST. 1869)
773 Colleges & Universities Playing Football at All Levels
(FBS, FCS, Div. II, Div. III, NAIA and more)
81,000(+) College Football Players in NCAA & NAIA
89 Colleges & Universities Added Football Programs from 2008-22
16 Colleges & Universities Will Add Football Programs in 2023 and Beyond
17 Colleges & Universities Offering Sprint Football
19 Colleges & Universities Offering Women’s Flag Football as a Varsity Sport
123 Junior Colleges Offering Football
0.41 Percent of College Football Players Made NFL Opening Week Rosters in 2022
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE (est. 1920)
32 NFL Teams
2,016 Players on NFL Rosters
297 Rookies Made NFL Opening Week Rosters in 2022 (NFL)
259 College Football Players Were Drafted in 2023
672 College Football Players Signed as Undrafted Free Agents or Received Training Camp Invitations in 2023
3.3 Years is an Average NFL Player’s Career (Statista)
COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY GRADUATION RATES
82% Graduation Success Rate of Football Bowl Subdivision Football Student-Athletes (NCAA)
70% Graduation Rate of General Student Body at Division I Institutions (NCAA)
3,113 Student-Athletes on 2022 College Football Rosters Had Already Earned Their Undergraduate Degrees
5,863 Football Student-Athletes have Returned to School to Earn Their Degrees since 2003—the most among all NCAA Division I sports (NCAA)
NFF COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME (EST. 1951)
5.62 Million College Football Players All-Time (est. 1869)
1,074 Players and 230 Coaches inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame All-Time
Less Than Two One-Hundredths of a Percent (.02%) of All-Time Players Have Earned Induction into the College Football Hall of Fame
22 Coaches and Players from 25 schools representing 6 different decades to be inducted into College Football Hall of Fame Class on December 5, 2023
NFF SCHOLAR-ATHLETE PROGRAMS & INITIATIVES
33 William V. Campbell Trophy® Recipients Recognized as College Football’s Top Scholar-Athlete (est. 1990)
906 College Football Players from 273 Schools Honored as NFF National Scholar-Athletes All-Time (est. 1959)
16,389 College Football Players All-Time Named to the NFF Hampshire Honor Society (est. 2007)
10 Years of Honoring Faculty Athletic Representatives Through NFF Faculty Salutes
81 High School Football Scholar-Athletes Recognized by NFF Team of Distinction
34 State High School Coaches Association Partnered on the NFF National High School Academic Excellence Awards
2 Recipients of the NFF Hatchell Cup, Presented to the Nation’s Top All Around High School Football Program
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