As expansive as the HBCU football landscape is, some areas of the country are still looking for a way to be seen by those schools.
One such combine will help with that process as the 9th annual National College Resources Foundation HBCU Football Combine takes place this weekend in Long Beach, California.
The combine will take place at the famed Long Beach Polytechnical High School beginning Friday and will continue on Saturday. Unsigned seniors, junior college, and transfer portal athletes were encouraged to attend, as 30 coaches from all levels of HBCU football are expected to attend and participate.
NEW: About 25 HBCU coaches are hitting California to recruit top talent.
Great to see them pitching their programs 👏 pic.twitter.com/tooOptKSTq
— College Transfer Portal (@CollegeFBPortal) April 19, 2026
HBCU football gets West Coast exposure
One such coach is Tuskegee‘s Aaron James, and he’s excited to look for talent in a new location.
“The reason I continue to come back to the NCRF HBCU Combine is to identify and evaluate quality talent. Dr. Price has created a valuable platform that allows prospective student-athletes to perform in front of numerous HBCU football coaches,” James said. “With there being no HBCUs in California, this event provides a unique and important opportunity for these young men to showcase their abilities and gain exposure.”
Aside from James, coaches from Livingstone, Florida A&M, Alabama A&M, South Carolina State, Texas Southern, Alabama State, Jackson State, Southern, Grambling, Howard, and Johnson C. Smith will be in attendance to evaluate players.
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‘Lives will be changed’
NCRF founder Dr. Theresa Price says, “Hosting the NCRF HBCU Football Combine has been a dream of mine since I started Black College Expo 27 years ago. There are so many talented athletes that get overlooked when it comes to playing at the next level.
And with the portal being overloaded right now, it is pushing everyone down, which is really making it hard to get recruited. We know that it’s hard for our HBCUs to get to the West Coast, so we raise money to get them here, and this makes it a win-win for everyone. Lives will be changed this weekend.”
