04 Jan On the Ground in America: Why Now Is the Time for the US College Pathway
Wow! What an amazing 2 weeks I had recently on US soil!
For all the wonders of modern media – being able to do virtual tours online, nothing beats being on a US college campus in person.
You may have seen pics and videos of my tour on instagram, trying to do justice to the incredible sights of all that the US college system has to offer.
Here are the main takeaways from my visit to some 10 Universities across 6 states:
Just Do it
Now is as good a time to experience the US college pathway as ever. The facilities just keep getting better, the support for the student-athlete is strong and meaningful. And the student-athletes who I visited are truly ‘living their dreams’ on their campuses. Whether you are aiming for the 2032 Olympics or simply looking to utilise your sporting talents to gain a valuable personal and academic outcome, there is something for everybody in the US right now.
Show Me The Money
I didn’t have to look too far to confirm from where the millions of dollars of scholarship originates. I was lucky enough to travel with former Super Bowl Champion and 2 – Time National American Football Champion, Jesse Williams, who gave me an unprecedented tour inside the inner workings of the best football programs in the USA. The weekly revenue generated from these teams is in the millions, which trickles down into all other sports, enabling sizable scholarship offers in access of $US 500K to be offered to individuals, many of whom are Study & Play USA athletes. Not only this, student-athletes can now access money outside of scholarship like never before with the advent of NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) legislation. American football is the engine room for such scholarships and opportunities.
Campus Life
Some things just don’t change. It’s been 24 years since I had the privilege of being a student-athlete at Oklahoma State University. The world has changed since then in so many ways, but some things just never change. I had the pleasure of touring the campus of world famous University of Southern California with two of our female stars golfer Sarah and tennis player Lily. We freely toured the campus, each of them pointing out their favourite parts of campus, the places they go to train, to study, to chill out and to socialise. In fact the only thing that has changed is the level of support these young student-athletes receive. If I could do it all again, I would, in any of the 50 states of the USA.