Photo by: Aly Bayliss
ACU's Egbo Accepted Into NFL/NCAA Administrators Academy
4/21/2026 9:04:00 PM | Football
When Anthony Egbo, Jr. talks about the opportunity ahead of him, he doesn't try to make it sound bigger than it is. He doesn't have to.
The former ACU football player and current director of the Wildcat Annual Fund is spending this week at the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh as part of the NFL/NCAA Administrators Academy, an exclusive professional development experience for emerging leaders in football administration.
"Because I was at the NCAA Leadership Forum in 2023, I'm looped into this communication system with the NCAA," said Egbo, who went from a walkoff in 2018 to a team captain by his final season with the Wildcats. "They sent out a plethora of different programming events and initiatives they're rolling out for the year. I saw the NFL/NCAA Administrators Academy, and I was reading the description and thought, holy cow, this is amazing."
He applied in January. By late March, he had his answer: he was in.
A Week in Pittsburgh — and at the Draft
The timing couldn't be better. Egbo will be in Pittsburgh during one of the biggest weeks on the football calendar, learning from NFL executives by day and experiencing the NFL Draft up close at night.
"We get a behind-the-scenes tour of how the draft works," he said. "It's a leadership workshop all day, then at the end of the day on Thursday, we get to be live at the draft that night. It's the first round, so we'll get to see the top picks in the NFL. I won't be hearing my name called, but it's still cool."
Egbo said he plans to represent the university proudly.
"I'll wear my ACU ring," he said. "When they ask me where I'm from, I'll say I'm from the 2024 UAC champs."
Opening Doors at the Next Level
For Egbo, the academy isn't just about one week in Pittsburgh. It's about building relationships that can shape his career in college athletics — and beyond.
"I'm really hoping to expand my network a lot, especially in the NFL realm," he said. "You don't really get exposure to NFL executives that easily. If I can create a pipeline to the NFL, I think that'll help me regardless of what I do — whether I stay at college or whether I eventually want to go pro."
Egbo is part of a 12-person cohort that includes administrators from across the country.
Learning That Lasts
One of the things Egbo is most excited about is the mentorship component that follows the week in Pittsburgh.
"They pair you with an executive in the same line of the football industry you want to get into," he said. "If you want to get into marketing, you'll get paired with a marketing executive. If you want to get into personnel, you get a personnel executive.
"You do a five-month mentorship post-program, which I think is probably the coolest part. They're making it a for-sure thing that you have a connection you take home with you — and hopefully tap into that person's network as well."
Click here to learn more about the Wildcat Annual Fund, the athletic department's new fundraising organization for all 15 programs.
The former ACU football player and current director of the Wildcat Annual Fund is spending this week at the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh as part of the NFL/NCAA Administrators Academy, an exclusive professional development experience for emerging leaders in football administration.
"Because I was at the NCAA Leadership Forum in 2023, I'm looped into this communication system with the NCAA," said Egbo, who went from a walkoff in 2018 to a team captain by his final season with the Wildcats. "They sent out a plethora of different programming events and initiatives they're rolling out for the year. I saw the NFL/NCAA Administrators Academy, and I was reading the description and thought, holy cow, this is amazing."
He applied in January. By late March, he had his answer: he was in.
A Week in Pittsburgh — and at the Draft
The timing couldn't be better. Egbo will be in Pittsburgh during one of the biggest weeks on the football calendar, learning from NFL executives by day and experiencing the NFL Draft up close at night.
"We get a behind-the-scenes tour of how the draft works," he said. "It's a leadership workshop all day, then at the end of the day on Thursday, we get to be live at the draft that night. It's the first round, so we'll get to see the top picks in the NFL. I won't be hearing my name called, but it's still cool."
Egbo said he plans to represent the university proudly.
"I'll wear my ACU ring," he said. "When they ask me where I'm from, I'll say I'm from the 2024 UAC champs."
Opening Doors at the Next Level
For Egbo, the academy isn't just about one week in Pittsburgh. It's about building relationships that can shape his career in college athletics — and beyond.
"I'm really hoping to expand my network a lot, especially in the NFL realm," he said. "You don't really get exposure to NFL executives that easily. If I can create a pipeline to the NFL, I think that'll help me regardless of what I do — whether I stay at college or whether I eventually want to go pro."
Egbo is part of a 12-person cohort that includes administrators from across the country.
Learning That Lasts
One of the things Egbo is most excited about is the mentorship component that follows the week in Pittsburgh.
"They pair you with an executive in the same line of the football industry you want to get into," he said. "If you want to get into marketing, you'll get paired with a marketing executive. If you want to get into personnel, you get a personnel executive.
"You do a five-month mentorship post-program, which I think is probably the coolest part. They're making it a for-sure thing that you have a connection you take home with you — and hopefully tap into that person's network as well."
Click here to learn more about the Wildcat Annual Fund, the athletic department's new fundraising organization for all 15 programs.
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