Your opportunity as a Sportzine Publisher is partially driven by the economic down-turn as lower tax collections create a short term short fall for states and school districts.  However, as the economy recovers, the need for your services will continue to grow.  Today’s critical state have been accelerated by the downturn, however, there are articles In The News from as far back as 2003 talking about the dire state of high school sports funding.  As the economy and tax revenues recover, absorbing normal inflation and replenishing lost curriculum funding will prevent sports from seeing meaningful restored funding come its way. 

It is a sad reality that out of disaster comes opportunity.  With all the destruction of Katrina, the rebuilding of New Orleans and the coast areas created thousands of construction jobs.  The Americans with Disabilities Act forced every business in America to build new ramps, install elevators, remodel bathrooms and paint new reserved parking spaces.  Billions of dollars were spent in compliance.  Energy policy is forcing auto makers, energy companies and consumers to spend money to comply with new laws.  It is common for legislation to impact businesses, vendors, customers and citizens on a direct and on an indirect basis.

Teacher salaries, unfunded pensions, facilities costs, state legislatures, state athletic associations, the unions and the ACLU all play a role in determining school budgets.  The spirited debate over the value of curricular expenses versus extra-curricular expenses will continue in every school district and over time, extra-curricular sports and activities will continue to lose ground.  

Will sports be eventually pushed out of the school district budget completely?  Will all sports be club sports?  Will the districts continue to maintain the gyms, stadiums and fields?  Will they charge rent to the team to use them for parctices and contests?  What about transportation?  Officials? 

Good intentions have serious impact on young athletes, artists and musicians.  In some cases, unintended consequences.  In other cases, pure conflicts of interest.

Sportzine Publishers can Change the Game, make a difference.  With over 9 pages of articles In The News, the pace of bad situations turning worse is accelerating.  Even if your school seems to be immune to the budget cuts to sports, look carefully at the district budgets and the national trends.   The battle over curricular verses extra-curricular will always end with the same winner and the same loser.

Sportzine Publishers cannot "save" high school sports alone.  With current plans for future services, Sportzine Publishers may be able double their contributions.  But with numbers this big, hundreds of thousands of dollars, if you can make a 10% or a 25% difference, you are a true partner and critical player in a participating sports program's strategy to survive.

You can Change the Game and be there to partner with them.  Be a hometown hero.