USF is one of four colleges nationally that have been chosen to host camps this summer for the Youth Impact Program, which educates middle school students on academic development and football skills.

The program, which will have about 75 local middle-schoolers attending a full day of camp at USF each weekday for five weeks, was first launched at the University of Southern California in 2006. Tulane joined the program last summer, and USF and Rice have camps that start Monday and run through the end of July. The camp is free to all participants.

"USF is a fine university, and we have the utmost respect for (athletic director) Doug Woolard and his staff for the way they're embracing their community," said Brandon Spann, the program's operations manager. "They're helping us reach these kids."

The camp starts at 8 a.m. each day, with morning sessions that focus on academic areas such as math and reading and units on life skills taught after lunch. The afternoon allows the campers to work on football skills with coaching from USF and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with weekly field trips and guest speakers.

One teacher from each of four Tampa-area middle schools will also be part of the program, which creates a contact at each school to monitor the progress of students who take part in the camp. USF's camp is being coordinated by Justin Miller, USF's assistant athletic director for academics and student-athlete development.

For more information on the Youth Impact Program and how you can help, visit the program's official site at Youthimpactprogram.org.