An Examination of Television Coverage in U.S. High School Athletics

This article chronicles the positive and negative consequences of televising interscholastic athletic events. The study further explores the extent and range of television coverage for each of the 51 state high school athletic associations within the United States through 26 collected responses (51.0%) from athletic association executive directors. Specifically, the questionnaire addressed or focused on (a) how extensive television coverage of state association sponsored regular seasons games (e.g., High School Game of the Week) were in their respective state and (b) whether or not states reached an agreement to broadcast championship games/events. Overall, this study suggests a great opportunity exists for those institutions and organizations interested in broadcasting high school sport but suggests schools recognize the need to responsibly managing those broadcasts because of the age group involved. Finally, this paper offers several topics related to television and high school sports we should consider studying more closely in the future.