USA Today's Steve Wieberg published an interesting article today discussing how for-profit company IMG, one of the biggest sports management and promotion firms, is promoting their new high school sports academy by promoting national championship events.
At the same time, the article discusses a growing momentum towards national championship events being sanctioned by the National Federation of State High School Association.
The venture comes as the National Federation of State High School Associations, the umbrella organization for state high school governing bodies, gives its first serious consideration to the establishment of sanctioned national championships. More than half the state associations signaled their interest in exploring the issue during the NFHS' winter convention in San Francisco earlier this month, and its eight-person board of directors could deliver a recommendation in April.
"There's a lot to work out — time frames, missing school, all those things," says Ennis Proctor, executive director of the Mississippi High School Activities Association and president of the national board. "If they can be worked out, it may be something that would be good eventually."
LinkI can't say that I am surprised by these developments. College recruiting websites covering high school athletes have become really popular. There are even national television shows dedicated to high school sports and athletics. It appears there is a demand for further popularizing high school athletics. I'm sure media companies are looking at these opportunities because not only is there a potential viewership audience, but the media rights can probably be obtained rather cheaply.
Just because national championships are good for the media, however, does not make it good for schools. It is one thing if parents want to pay to send their kids to a national championship event, but it is another matter when schools are paying to send kids to a national championship game. Travel costs are very expensive. This is especially true when you count ancillary support squads like the band and cheerleaders. The added exposure and pressure to win will probably drive up the coaching costs for schools.
I've already heard of situations here in Texas where school districts decided not to build new schools based on the impact it would have on the football team. For example, if a school with a powerful football squad was split in two, neither team might be good enough to compete for state titles. The pressure to succeed on the field will just increase with national championships.
It seems almost certain that there will be even more national championships for high school sports in the future. What concerns do you have about this? What potential benefits, if any, do you see for the athletes and the schools if there is a proliferation of national championships? If national championships are inevitable, who should organize them? What should the rules be?
