Bowl Games Are Bad

October 6, 2014

The idea to conduct one or more high school football bowl games in Florida in late December is a bad idea on every possible level of consideration. The idea will triumph only if greed trumps good sense.

A misguided marketing firm is trying again, this time attempting to bribe schools and state high school associations to bend or break their rules. A national media chain is trumpeting the plan to give some legs to its foolish national rankings. So there is some buzz about the plan, but no brains.

At a time when concerns rage for excessive head contact and concussions in football, no responsible party would for a single second think seriously about adding more football practices or games for school-age players.

Well before late December, high school football has ended, and winter sports are well underway with practices and competition that are far more important than several more weeks of practice and another game of football.

How could we ever allow one team to have an extra month more of football practice than all others? How is that fair to all the other football teams?

The answer is that it’s not fair to the football programs of other schools; it’s not fair to the other sports at the school involved; and it’s not healthy for the football players involved.

Be the Referee: Dead Ball Penalty

By Paige Winne
MHSAA Director of Brand Management

September 15, 2026

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Dead Ball Penalty - Listen

We’ve got 4th-and-10 on the football field today. Team A has the ball on their own 40 and is going for it.

The quarterback scrambles and is pushed out of bounds at the 49-yard line, one yard short of a first down.

A defensive player from Team B hits the quarterback after he’s been pushed out of bounds and is flagged for a dead-ball personal foul. Where should the ball be marked and who has possession?

Is it 1st-and-10 for Team A at Team B’s 36-yard line? Or does the defense get the ball, 1st-and-10 for Team B at their own 36?

If you said Team B’s ball, you are correct. The personal foul was a dead-ball penalty that is enforced after the change of possession.

Previous 2026-27 editions

Sept. 8: Libero Ejected - Listen
Sept. 1: 
Soccer Foul After Shot on Goal - Listen
Aug. 25: 
Fumble Out of Bounds - Listen