A new high school sports season has dawned in Maine, and if Dick Durost could get the answer to one question it would be: What’s the weather going to be like in February?

These are challenging times for the Maine Principals’ Association, which Durost has led for 13 years. Like a family living from paycheck to paycheck, the organization that regulates high school sports in the state is constantly wondering if it will bring in enough money to pay the bills.

It’s been a refrain ever since the recession hit in 2008.

“This year, for only the second time in the last six years, we had more income at the end of the year than we did expenses, and I think we’re going to show a profit of about $51,000,” Durost said of the 2013-14 academic year.

“Four and five years ago, we had two years where we really struggled and lost about $200,000 each time. We used to have a bit of a savings account. We don’t have that anymore. … We have to take a look and realistically say, ‘Can we exist and support all of the programs that we support without raising what we’re charging for admission?’ ”

The MPA sponsors state tournaments in 18 boys’ and 18 girls’ sports. But basketball is the one that can bring a windfall. If communities known for supporting teams advance in those tournaments, and the weather holds, arenas in Bangor, Augusta and Portland will be brimming with fans and Durost can breathe easier.

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If not?

“We don’t want to get to the point where the only quality experiences we have are for the sports that make money,” Durost said. “To the kid that runs cross country or plays tennis, they want to go and feel like they had a quality experience. And we don’t want to give them a $10 trophy and give somebody else a $250 gold ball.”

Major cutbacks are not on the immediate horizon. But if the budget deficits return, the MPA could be forced to consider higher ticket prices for its tournaments, asking students to pay to participate in championships that don’t generate revenue, or possibly eliminating some sports altogether.

AT THE MERCY OF WEATHER

The MPA has existed since 1921, at first as an informal organization. It was incorporated as a non-profit in 1951. It’s rare among high school sports governing bodies in that it also provides training for principals and teachers across the state, between 50 and 65 days worth each year. Connecticut and Vermont are other states that combine athletic and educational functions in that manner.

Durost said Maine, with a small population, has found it more cost-effective to operate that way. There is one staff located in one building in Augusta that can oversee sports tournaments and also lobby the legislature on bills involving education. The organization maintains separate budgets – about 75 percent for sports, 25 percent for education – but files a single tax return. In recent years those returns have documented the financial losses and dwindling reserves.

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From the 2010-11 school year through 2012-13, the MPA lost $316,484, according to its federal tax returns. Its net assets fell by $120,000 during those three years, down to $809,781 heading into the 2013-14 school year.

“We’re not about having a profit line every year and keep putting away money,” Durost said. “We need to be financially viable. We’ve looked at ways to do things in a more cost-effective way. We have cut back on staff. We haven’t given up anything that we do in the process.”

There are two primary revenue streams for the athletic side of the MPA:

n The organization charges its 153 high schools $2 per student to participate in the 36 state tournaments. That works out to roughly $120,000 per year, and Durost said there is no thought of increasing that fee because schools are already dealing with tight budgets.

n The bulk of the money comes from tickets to attend state tournament games the MPA hosts at neutral sites such as the Augusta Civic Center for basketball or Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland for football. The MPA raised ticket prices to $8 for adults, $5 for students and senior citizens three years ago. Previously it was $6 and $4, with seniors paying the adult rate.

The MPA has cut staff from 10 to seven in Durost’s 13 years. Still, turning a profit is a dicey proposition.

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“We are at the mercy of two things that we can’t control. One is the weather. If we get two snowstorms in February during (basketball) tournament week, we’re in trouble,” Durost said. “The other piece is the matchups. There are some communities that just totally support and follow their kids no matter where they are, and there are other communities where that same level of support is not there.

“If the postseason is being played in their back yard, they’ll come. If they have to travel very far, and particularly if they have to travel north, they’re not used to doing that.”

The next step would be making the schools or athletes pay an additional fee to compete in state championships that do not generate revenue, such as cross country. Some states do this. Maine already charges a fee for downhill skiing to cover the cost of the ski lifts, etc.

“It’s on the table but it’s far enough away where I don’t want to reach for it. I don’t want to get to the point where we start valuing a sport more than others,” Durost said.

A NEW SOURCE OF REVENUE

Finding ways to pay for high school sports is an issue across the country. Freshman and junior varsity teams are becoming scarcer. High schools are increasingly turning to booster clubs or charging participation fees to fund the equipment and travel. Durost said he’s seen schools get creative with scheduling so they can send both a boys’ and girls’ team on a bus to an opposing school for games, for example.

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“There’s less support nationwide for schools as state legislatures across the country have looked at tightening their belts where they can,” said Bob Gardner, executive director of the National Federation of High Schools, based in Indiana.

“It’s somewhat cyclical. Not necessarily every state is in a downturn or struggling financially. But there are very few schools that have all the resources that they want to be able to offer all the programs that a student would like to avail themselves of.”

In response, high schools are turning to the same revenue source as their college and professional counterparts – corporate sponsors. The NFHS is entering a second season of a web-streaming network that will broadcast state tournament games and other events nationally. There were more than 28,000 events streamed last year. Maine is a participant.

It’s an attempt to reach a wider audience, to allow a local teenager’s grandparents who may live in Florida to tune in to a key game. But it’s more about getting some national sponsors on board to spread the wealth, with the local schools involved picking up a piece of the rights fees. Under Armour has signed on as an advertiser for this year.

“High school sports may be the last bastion of amateur sports as we know it today, where people play for the fun of being with their classmates,” Gardner said. “I think that’s so important. It really does touch every community and it’s just grassroots in this nation, and I think that’s something we really want to hold on to.”

What Maine isn’t looking to do is add more sports. Girls’ lacrosse and ice hockey debuted under Durost’s tenure, while girls’ gymnastics faded away. At least 10 schools must field varsity programs for a sport to be sanctioned by the MPA. Snowboarding may be on the horizon, but that would add another tournament with no chance of adding revenue.

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Ultimate is another sport gaining momentum. Vermont is adding it next year. New Hampshire added bass fishing last year.

But both of those states have been able to turn profits despite the recession.

New Hampshire made $504,630 from 2010-13, its tax returns show. Vermont was $433,190 in the black during that same time span.

Ultimate, when it officially begins in 2015, will be the 27th sanctioned sport in Vermont, which serves 75 high schools.

Associate director Bob Johnson, in his 12th year overseeing high school sports for the Vermont Principals’ Association, said the size of his state has made it easier to control costs. There is no road trip longer than two hours, for example. State tournament ticket prices have held steady at $7 for adults, $4 for students and senior citizens. Attendance remains strong.

“The bottom line is people go to championship games. They go and support their kids. It’s relatively easy to get to our championship games,” Johnson said. “Comparatively speaking, we don’t have high overhead. So we’ve held our own.”

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Maine, covering more schools over a much bigger geographic area, has found itself stretched thin.

THE TARGET OF CRITICISM

No athletic governing board is beloved. From the NCAA to the NFL, sports leaders are often seen as out of touch, imperious and uncaring. It goes with the territory and Durost has certainly felt it.

He was a teacher, a principal and a superintendent himself, as well as a coach and referee at previous stops, including Easton and Presque Isle. He points to the good work the MPA does in educating educators. He notes that the rules his organization enforces are voted on by all 153 high schools and not something the MPA is deciding on a whim. The MPA is essentially an arm of your local school district.

Still, he’s had to become comfortable playing the heavy.

“Some of (the criticism) is probably deserved,” Durost said. “I think a lot of the time we serve as a buffer between communities and schools that are trying to do the right thing. Sometimes it’s difficult to stand on your own to those pressures.

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“The passion that goes with high school athletics can be both the very best and the very worst of what goes along with it.”

Paul Vachon is an example. The longtime girls’ basketball coach at Cony High was known for venting about MPA policies, complaining about scheduling and a range of other issues.

He’s been the athletic director at Cony for the past seven years and is surprised to discover how much he’s mellowed.

“As a coach I hated the MPA, or I thought I did. Sometimes you don’t see the whole picture,” Vachon said. “But working now as an administrator, I see there isn’t anything they wouldn’t do for kids. They research everything. You’re not going to please everybody; they know that.

I have a better view now. Maybe I’m just older.”

Durost is as well. He’s 65 but has no plans to retire. He enjoys working with principals and athletic directors, even with the increasing financial strain.

He’ll keep one eye on the games and another on the weather, hoping enough money flows in to maintain the status quo.

“We need the MPA because the schools tell us they need us. We need to have a common set of rules that are in the best interest of competition for kids,” Durost said.

“I don’t see that changing.”


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