Jonathan Cooley, a graduate-assistant football coach at Bluffton University, is among 30 invitees to the NCAA Future Football Coaches Academy Jan. 6-8 in Nashville, Tenn.

The academy is for individuals who have recently completed their collegiate eligibility and want to coach college football.

Cooley was a four-year letterman at John Carroll University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in finance in 2011.

He was an assistant coach for one year at Millikin University, working with defensive backs and special teams, before coming to Bluffton, where he was the safeties coach this fall and began his pursuit of a master’s degree. He is also a graduate of Lincoln High School in Gahanna, Ohio, a Columbus suburb.

The academy is an educational forum that also aims to assist participants with career advancement, networking and exposure opportunities, and to raise awareness of the pool of qualified coaching candidates.