The Advocate and Democrat

Just call this the year of change for the TSSAA and Tennessee high school football.

After completely overhauling the system for aligning districts and the playoff format, the association continued in its changes on Wednesday with the announcement of a new site for the BlueCross Bowl, which serves as the championship game for what will be eight divisions this fall.

While the switch to a new format in the playoffs was expected, it was a shock to many when the TSSAA announced that Cookeville will serve as the host of the BlueCross Bowl for 2009 and 2010.

The games will be played on Tennessee Tech's campus at Tucker Stadium.

Cookeville offered a guaranteed $250,000 bid to the TSSAA, while other finalists Chattanooga and Murfreesboro offered $241,000 and $231,000, respectively.

The Murfreesboro bid was the minimum set by the TSSAA.

Cookeville taking the football championships, arguably the most prized championships in the state, from Murfreesboro was a big upset based upon the background.

Murfreesboro has hosted the football championships since 2000, hosts the state titles for volleyball, boys' and girls' basketball, and Spring Fling,

However, the city and Middle Tennessee State University, which hosts most of the events, has come under pressure recently. Some members of the TSSAA Executive Board, which decided to give Cookeville the football title games, have expressed concern about Murfreesboro's desire to host the state championships.

Another big blow could be on the way to the city as the bids for the 2010 and 2011 Spring Fling are due by July 13.

Losing Spring Fling could result in a total of $13 million in lost revenue for the city, as the football championships make about $1 million and Spring Fling, a week-long event, makes close to $12 million.

The TSSAA will make its decision on Spring Fling in August.

One factor in Cookeville landing the football championships was the size of Tucker Stadium.

It's a 16,000-seat facility and is expected to give a much better atmosphere than the 32,000 seat Floyd Stadium on MTSU's campus.

The TSSAA also voted to raise ticket prices for football playoff games as well as sectional tournament games in basketball, baseball, volleyball, soccer, softball, and track.

The tickets will go up from $7 to $8 in football playoff games and from $6 to $7 in the other sports.

All championship game tickets, except in football and basketball, will cost $10. Football and basketball championship game tickets will remain at $12.

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