[logank013]

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

It does. We've had a State Championship each of the past 4 years, sponsored by the Minnesota State High School League, the same organization that runs all the football, hockey, soccer, etc across the state. It's the oldest high school league sponsored championship around.

One other thing that hasn't been mentioned is our existing relationships with certain organizations in the state... For example, the University of Minnesota, which makes our Minneapolis double regional possible. You really can't understate the value the U of M or MSHSL places on FIRST and our current level of interaction with them. Switching to districts would affect both those relationships, something that needs to be done very carefully. It wouldn't be good to tick off some of the biggest event sponsors we have...

I see what your saying about sponsors. I actually never thought for about how much sponsors affect the events. AndyMark being in Indiana helps by sponsoring I believe all of the district events. I bet that's why the Championship is in Kokomo since that's where they are located I believe. They make the district model work well. The only bad thing about switching to districts in Indiana sponsor wise is that there is now no event at Purdue and they sponsor 3 teams. I'm curious to see if those 3 teams still get sponsorships from Purdue.