Next College Student Athlete Announces Official Partnership With Chicago Public Schools

CHICAGO, Dec. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Next College Student Athlete (NCSA), the world's largest and most successful college athletic recruiting network, today announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), created to offer recruiting education and guidance to high school coaches, student-athletes and parents across the CPS school district.

The partnership will grant all CPS teams access to NCSA's online recruiting tools and resources. NCSA will also attend CPS coaching sessions to offer guidance to coaches and families on the recruiting process.

"NCSA has had a special relationship with CPS for many years, and we're thrilled to finally make our partnership official," said NCSA President Lisa Strasman. "As the nation's third-largest school district, there are thousands of CPS student-athletes who dream of playing their sport at the next level and NCSA can offer them the support and guidance they need to find the right opportunity in college."

Over the last year, NCSA has worked to support CPS athletic initiatives including the Second Annual Chicago Public League Soccer Showcase hosted by the Chicago Public High School Athletic Association, which connects the top men's and women's soccer athletes from CPS with college coaches from across the country.

Additionally, NCSA will provide a minimum of 400 All In Awards to CPS student-athletes. The cornerstone of NCSA's give-back mission, the All In Award is given to deserving student-athletes who have the strong desire to continue their sport in college and demonstrate financial need.

Each All in Award recipient receives NCSA's MVP Membership ? its most comprehensive recruiting membership ? at no cost, providing highly-personalized support and guidance to ensure student-athletes have the best opportunity to find a college that is the right fit for them.

All In Award recipients must meet standard NCSA and NCAA academic and athletic qualifications.

"Chicago Public Schools values athletics as a key part of a well-rounded academic experience and is committed to helping our student-athletes reach the next level of success," said Karl Kemp, CPS Executive Director of Sports Administration. "Our partnership with NCSA will provide guidance and resources for our coaches and student-athletes as they navigate the recruiting process."

Since its inception, NCSA has been committed to making collegiate sports accessible to all student-athletes. Each year, NCSA donates millions of dollars in recruiting services to deserving student-athletes and their families through various awards and programs, including the All In Award. In 2018, NCSA donated over $23M in services.

The partnership will also grant CPS teams access to NCSA's team recruiting platform, Team Edition, which allows coaches to track and help guide their athletes' college recruitment process with easy-to-use software. Team Edition provides exposure to athletes and teams, connecting users to NCSA's database of more than 35,000 college coaches across 34 sports.

Founded in 2000 to help educate student-athletes and their families on the college athletic recruiting process, NCSA works with families, club, high school and college coaches to help hundreds of thousands of student-athletes find their best college fit.

About NCSA
Next College Student Athlete (NCSA) is the world's largest and most successful collegiate athletic recruiting network. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Reigning Champs LLC, NCSA leverages proprietary technology and data with professional expertise and personal relationships, connecting hundreds of thousands of college-bound student-athletes to more than 35,000 college coaches nationwide across 34 sports each year.

NCSA is the preferred and trusted recruiting partner for several national governing bodies including USA Baseball, USA Water Polo, United States Tennis Association (USTA), US Lacrosse, USA Wrestling, USA Field Hockey, USA Track and Field, USA Volleyball and US Youth Soccer.

Learn more about NCSA at www.ncsasports.org.

CONTACT: Lauren Pulte 
(248) 885-2607 
[email protected]

SOURCE Next College Student Athlete (NCSA)