Out of State Players Flock to California Community College Programs

Out of State Players Flock to California Community College Football Programs

By

Hazel Dixon

      Why would anyone pay nearly $200 a dollars a unit to enroll in a California community college if the student lives out of state?   In state students pay roughly $26 a unit.  If you happen to be an athlete, a football player, you might be willing to flock to the Golden State and continue your athletic career. 

1. Amazingly, the National Junior College Community Athletic Association which represents junior college football for the rest of the country has only 68 teams.

   Reluctantly, many people question the thought and intentions of why players who may perhaps live in the south travel to West Coast to play football, especially at a rural community college.  In the past and still today, coaches have been attacked for recruiting these players.  What many people may not realize is that 60% of Junior College football programs are in California.

 Athletes who play in California are provided with many benefits, such living in an new environment, getting a fresh start, and provided with the opportunity to receive their Associate degree. However, playing out -of -state can also be an eye opening experience for both players and community members as well.  Approximately 97% of the athletes believed that they are stereotyped about in the classroom and in the community.  The student-athletes felt that instructors believed that they were only capable of performing on the field and not in the classroom, and that the community wasn’t accepting of them because they were different.  The survey concluded that 73% of football players would welcome the idea of having more instructors that reflected their own ethnicity.  Many of these football players want to be accepted, and 85% agreed that they would welcome more support from instructors, staff, and the community members to attend more football games.  Players also would prefer to be seen in a positive rather than in a negative way.

  Oftentimes, football players come to California because junior college football programs may not be available in their hometown, and for many coming to a play at a junior college, may be one of the only options players may have left. 

    The fact is that many players that arrive in California are average to outstanding athletes. Some were MVP’s in high school, had great stats and were highly recruited by Division 1 schools. However, along the way, a series of unfortunate events occurred.  For many athletes their grades were substandard and they performed poorly on the SAT and/ or ACT tests; were over looked by recruiters; a family emergency, and the list goes on.  Somehow these athletes’ dreams were derailed and they had to make some hard choices.  These football players had to find other options. 

    Luckily, for many football players playing at a junior college can mean redemption and a second chance for success.  While for many this may be their last chance, there are those players that perform well on the field and in the classroom and sometimes end playing at the Division 1 or Division 2 level.  There are even a select few which have started out playing on the JUCO level and may have or had a career playing football professionally in the NFL and CFL.