TV TIME GROWING FOR HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS

When the five-o'clock whistle blows in the small communities that dot the county roads and interstates of Texas, it's shutdown time and the high school football experience begins. The excitement bleeds into larger cities making Thursday, Friday and Saturday's from late August through mid-December about as sacred as you get in sports. While the flavor is captured by thousands of fans who fill stadiums, the entity of high school football has quickly become a major player in the business of sports media.   The Friday Night Lights shine brightly during the fall, but now ever-growing lights of television are catching on as well. As interest in high school football has grown, so has the interest of local, regional and national television outlets.   I am going on five years at KPRC-Local 2, the NBC affiliate in Houston. As a broadcaster covering high school sports in Texas, I was shocked at the lack of coverage markets give to football and high school sports in general in the past.    At KPRC-Local 2, the creation of the "Friday Football Frenzy" by News Director Skip Valet three years ago, paved a new direction in which high school sports are covered in Houston. "I am very proud of KPRC Local 2's Friday Football Frenzy coverage," Valet said. "Local television and high school football are a perfect fit. Fans, bands, and cheerleaders, rocking their stadiums as they cheer for their high school teams -- you can feel the excitement. It is the perfect television story. High school football is also a big part of our commitment as 'Your Education Station.'"  While KPRC-TV leads the charge on the local level, regional coverage has also played a big role in making high school football a priority. At FSN, a weekly program developed in the 1990's, led to the creation of a statewide highlight show that airs at midnight each week on the network. "Texas high school football is one of the most attractive television packages on our network because it resonates with so many fans across the state," Fox Sports Southwest senior vice president/general manager Jon Heidtke said. "When we introduced our Dodge Game of the Week last season we received more positive feedback from viewers than we've ever gotten for any of our other local professional sports programming. "High school football brings communities together and creates a special bond and a feeling of civic pride," said Heidtke. "Our games generate tremendous excitement for the community and the players. For most of the kids, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity since many of them won't go on to play in college or in the pros so it becomes a memory that they'll be able to share forever with their families. That's why high school football is so important to us." While local affiliates are beginning to produce local games, outlets such as FSN and ESPN are also in the mix on a weekly basis. The University Interscholastic League still protects the Friday night experience from television and webcasting, but an influx of radio broadcasts has made an impact in growing the interest. "High school football in Texas has a tremendous impact on the rest of the nation," UIL Athletic Director Dr. Charles Breithaupt said. "There were over 350 Division I recruits from Texas last year. There are currently two quarterbacks on the Heisman watch who played high school football in Texas. Texas high school football is nationally recognized." The booming business of high school football has grown to the point where marketing companies are now getting involved. Local businesses see the advantage of associating themselves with a community and state that covets its high school football tradition.  Companies such as Toyota, which sponsors KPRC-TV's Football Frenzy, is all about reaching a wide audience and finding the human interest stories you will not find anywhere else. "We seek out positive stories involving students," said Valet. "It doesn't get much more positive than the lessons learned on the field -- teamwork, tenacity and resiliency. That spirit deserves the prominent coverage it gets from KPRC Local 2." From August through the state championships in December there is nothing quite like high school football experience. The coverage has ramped up because the road to the championship will end in Class 5A at Reliant Stadium in Houston. On television.-