August 17, 2005
By Rachel George
News Sports Reporter
Louis and Marla Hawkins expected only two or three colleges to be interested in their daughter, Cierra, a talented student-athlete.
Instead, more than 150 schools showed interest in the profile the Hutch-Tech basketball forward created through the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA), which promotes student-athletes to college coaches.
Better still, Cierra was offered a full scholarship by Fort Valley State University, a Division II school in Georgia she will attend in the fall.
"(The NCSA has) been a big difference. They gave her the opportunity. They gave her the looks that she wouldn't have gotten elsewhere," Louis Hawkins said. "I actually thought I was reading the letter wrong. We actually called the school."
The opportunities Cierra Hawkins got from the NCSA were born of another opportunity, one provided by the Buffalo Bills. Since 2002, the Bills have sponsored approximately 36 high school athletes from the Buffalo and Rochester areas, paying the $1,500 it costs to join the association.
Cierra Hawkins brings to at least nine the number of local student-athletes who have reaped the benefits of the program Bills President and General Manager Tom Donahoe brought with him from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"Many of these kids were kids who needed it and many of these kids were kids who without the scholarship money wouldn't have a chance to go to school," Donahoe said. "We just felt it would be a way to give back to some of the kids in Buffalo, to give them the opportunity that if they weren't involved in this organization wouldn't be there for them."
While in Pittsburgh, Donahoe formed a friendship andpartnership with Steve Potter, a senior national scouting director for the NCSA. Now that partnership is making a difference in Buffalo.
To be eligible, students must excel in athletics and in the classroom. Dave Thomas, athletics director for the Buffalo Public Schools, asks his coaches to find suitable students.
Once selected, the students make a profile of their academic and athletic accomplishments. More than 50,000 college coaches send the NCSA information on what kind of athletes they are seeking and the NCSA makes matches. Potter said he has a Recruiting Coach for each sport who gives coaches information about these student-athletes.
Potter said the NCSA tries to get any scholarships it can for the students, whether they be athletic or academic.
While the Bills get the students into the program, the students must do the rest.
"I want to make sure the kids are committed," Potter said. "Some do a good job and some don't."
Potter said about 75 percent of the student-athletes nominated use the NCSA. Potter said some are handicapped by lack of access to a computer or a telephone.
"We try to match the student-athlete with the right coach based on his academics and athletics and what he's willing to do (as far as moving away)," Potter said.
To Hutch-Tech basketball coach Dave Sardo, Hawkins seemed a perfect fit for the program. She graduated with a 3.7 grade-point average and earned a spot on the All-Western New York honorable mention team. "We're proud of her," Sardo said. "She's worked hard for four years and has earned that (scholarship)."
The full scholarship helped ease Louis Hawkins' worries about paying for college. At the time, he didn't know if he would still have his job with Erie County after its financial crisis.
"(My wife and I) never took the opportunity to put money aside for her," he said. "It would have been a great struggle."
The NCSA gave Cierra Hawkins, who had been looking at Buffalo State and Daemen College, a chance to go away to college. She narrowed her choices from more than 150 to 35, choosing Fort Valley State after her official visit.
"They made me feel comfortable. They welcomed me," she said.
"If it wasn't for the NCSA, I believe I wouldn't have been as far as I'm going. Basically, it was a blessing. It means that I get to help my family out. I fulfill my family's goals. They want to see me successful."
Farod Muhammad II, who graduated from Hutch-Tech in 2003, got a scholarship to play football at Central Connecticut State. Zach Rojek, a class of 2005 graduate from City Honors, will play football at Ohio Wesleyan University.
While the NCSA doesn't get all students scholarships, it does help them find the right schools.
It guided basketball player Lynette Cray, a 2003 Buffalo Traditional graduate, to SUNY-Plattsburgh. She looked at about six schools but was in contact with about 20 coaches through her profile with the NCSA.
"I was looked at by local schools, but I wouldn't have been approached by as many schools outside of Buffalo and outside of New York State (if it weren't for the NCSA)," Cray said.
For Tony Stanford Jr., a 2003 Buffalo Traditional graduate, the program was worth it despite the problems he said he encountered. With Potter in Pittsburgh, Stanford said communication with NCSA was difficult.
Stanford said he was examined by several schools but didn't want to attend any because they didn't offer the electrical engineering major he wanted. He came close to getting a football scholarship to the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, but the school got rid of the program the summer before Stanford went to college.
He attends Alabama A&M and carries a 3.87 GPA.
"It was a lot of nonsports-related factors that led to me going there," he said. "I miss (playing) a lot. . . . I kind of think about what could have been.
"I think (joining the NCSA) was a good experience. I learned a lot about the process and how it goes."
Both Potter and Thomas said students want to be involved in this program. While the opportunities go mostly to inner-city students, the NCSA would like to help other student-athletes in need, Potter said. He added that his program helps students who aren't blue-chip recruits get scholarships to college and a chance to continue playing.
"This is about every one of these kids getting a college education," Potter said. "If we can just help a few, I get tickled pink about that."
Donahoe added, "We only have a couple of years of kids to look at, but it's going to be four, five, six or 10 years down the road to see how these kids have done."
Advanced placement /The match game
The NCSA matched these Western New York student-athletes with a college, and they enrolled for at least one season
Tylicia Moore : Kensington '03, Illinois Wesleyan University, basketball
Lynette Cray : Buffalo Traditional '03, SUNY-Plattsburgh, basketball
Aaron Parker: Hutch-Tech '03, Central Connecticut State University, football
Farod Muhammad II: Hutch-Tech '03, Central Connecticut State University, football
Gabriel Santiago: Rochester School of the Arts '03, Genesee Community College, baseball
Zach Rojek: City Honors '05, Ohio Wesleyan University, football
Precious Peoples: Hutch-Tech '05, Canisius College, track
Matt Fader: Maryvale '05, Medaille College, soccer
Cierra Hawkins: Hutch-Tech '05, Fort Valley State University, basketball
