Carleton College Football Guide to Recruiting

We feel that in many ways Carleton College is the last bastion of true student-athletics.

There are many football programs that we feel have lost sight of the true meaning of the phrase “student-athlete”. Many Division I, II, and III football programs do not allow their students the time to truly focus upon academic interests, to become two-sport athletes or to be heavily involved in extracurricular activities. Our players are able to take part in as much of the amazing Carleton experience as possible.

According to ancient Grecian philosophy the perfect human soul is only complete with both a healthy soul and a healthy body. Carleton College epitomizes this by offering the best combination of football and academics in America.

• Carleton is the highest ranked school west of the Mississippi that offers Division III football.
• Carleton is the highest ranked school in America that offers a full schedule and that is eligible for the NCAA playoffs.
• NO other school in the country can come close to matching us in the following areas:
• • 61 winning seasons
  • 460 wins in the history of the program
  • #6 Liberal Arts School in the Country
  • #7 Best Overall Student Experience for Undergraduate for All Schools
  • Most Fun Loving School
  • Faculty is Most Committed to Teaching in the Country

While football should be a high priority to our players, we do not feel that it should be the only important component of their life. We feel that football is an integral part of your collegiate education, but not the only piece of the puzzle.

When you commit to playing football at Carleton College, you are committing to becoming the best football player you can become. As a coaching staff at Carleton, we will provide for you the best coaching, the best strength-programs, and the best support system possible. We do not feel, however, that we need to burden you with some of the mandatory activities that other programs will require; such as three-hour assigned-room study sessions, morning workouts, or run-until-you-puke conditioning sessions.

We believe that hard work is fun, and that striving and working for excellence on an individual and group basis is something that you do while smiling. We feel that practice should be something that our players look forward to. Our goal is to make the 2 ½ hour practice session a time when our players can let loose and take a brief respite from the academic rigors of college life.

The best chance for you to achieve your dream job is a Carleton education. The school would not be ranked as high as it is without amazing continued successes by our alumni. The football staff here at Carleton believes that our job is to help our players realize their dreams.

Our players receive the best possible education to prepare themselves for their professional lives. You should be able to pursue the best possible education you can receive to prepare yourself for the rest of your professional life. You should also be able to pursue a fantastic, winning athletic experience in which you learn valuable life lessons and make lifelong friendships. You also should be able to pursue extracurricular activities such as studying abroad, playing another sport, writing for the school newspaper, participating in the choir and/or theater, having your own radio show, or being a lead-singer in a band.

As a coaching staff at Carleton College, we will support you fully in your pursuit of your dreams, whatever they might happen to be. Our players’ dreams encompass more than just football, and as such we have adopted a program and policies which allow our players to pursue these dreams.

Our football program has the highest graduation and retention rate of any school in our conference. We feel that this is because our program’s philosophy fits our school better than any school in America.

If you are committed to becoming the best football player you can be, consider Carleton.

If you are committed to becoming the best student you can be, consider Carleton.

If you are committed to becoming the best student-athlete you can be, choose Carleton.

Carleton College Football
Guide To Recruiting

1.  Contact us.  Direct any recruiting questions to Denny Ziegler, Recruiting Coordinator, at 507.222.7143 or at dziegler@carleton.edu. 

2.  Set up a campus visit. Come to campus and get a feel for who we are and what we have to offer.  If you visit during the school week, we can incorporate a class or a visit with one of our faculty members.

3. Send us game film. If you haven’t started your senior season, get us film from your junior year.  Then keep updating us as your senior season continues. Email us your highlights or a full game video link. DVD’s can be sent to:

Carleton College Football
F-Stadium
1 North College St
Northfield, MN 55057

4. Inform your coach. Let your high school head coach and guidance counselor know that you have an interest in Carleton College Football.

5. Attend one of our games.  Come see us in action and get a feel for campus. See what game day is all about. Here is our schedule. 

6. APPLY. Carleton uses the Common Application. Our admissions office uses 3 different dates to determine admission into Carleton:

• Early Decision 1 Deadline = November 15
• Early Decision 2 Deadline = January 15
• Regular Decision = January 15

7. Schedule an overnight visit. Overnight visits are best before Thanksgiving and after January 1.  Truly get a feel for what it is like to be a student/athlete here at Carleton.

8. Financial aid.  Make sure you and your family, complete the FAFSA form and the CSS Profile form.  Just a reminder that Carleton is a need-based institution.  Feel free to use the college’s Net Price calculator to help determine the estimated cost of attending.