Confusion reigns at recruiting showcase

Team rosters at high school football games typically aren’t treated like classified CIA documents.

Then again, the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association approves those games, and players involved aren’t directly at eligibility risk in other sports.

Featuring Las Vegas area players pursuing scholarships, the inaugural High School Senior Bowl organized by Big Time Sports 24/7 was played in front of fewer than 300 fans Saturday afternoon at Sam Boyd Stadium.

The East team built a 26-3 halftime lead on its way to a 34-11 victory over the West.

Rosters for the game were not distributed to fans at the entrance or in the crowd, though names of several skill-position players were read on the public-address system during the game.

Two game organizers and the public-address announcer, who said he was “under strict orders,” refused to provide rosters to the Review-Journal, which originally sought to cover the game.

An NIAA official at the game said he could not locate rosters, and a Clark County School District official said his office was refused rosters by the event organizers.

Even a coach from Whittier (Calif.) College who watched on the sideline said he was not provided rosters, although the event was billed as a recruiting showcase as college football’s Feb. 1 signing day approaches.

NIAA executive director Eddie Bonine has said that organizers of the game did not obtain approval from the NIAA, National Federation of State High School Associations or the NCAA to hold the game.

The NIAA has pointed to its rules about playing in nonapproved all-star events out of season, stating that any player who plays in such an event becomes ineligible for one activity season and/or 90 consecutive days. That means those who played in Saturday’s game would be ineligible for the rest of basketball and wrestling season or potentially track and field in the spring.

CCSD and NIAA officials said Saturday they were concerned about the safety of the athletes in the game, as even the equipment used for the game hadn’t been approved by the NFHS.

Wade White, president and CEO of Big Time Sports 24/7, said protecting players from eligibility issues wasn’t a reason for concealing rosters. He backtracked, however, and accused the NIAA of trying to interfere with athletes’ chances of going to college.

“It was because Eddie Bonine and those guys with the NIAA put so much stress on hurting these kids that we didn’t even want to release anything that had two words to say about our kids,” White said.

“Why are you in their business? Why are you trying to take something away from them?”

White told the Review-Journal on Dec. 6 that 96 players were set to play in the game. However, only 46 were in uniform Saturday, 25 for the West and 21 for the East.

No college coaches were spotted during the third quarter in the nearly empty press box, although a man was taping the game so film could be sent to colleges, White said.

The senior bowl is not affiliated with the West Charleston Lions Club Charity All-Star Game, which will be played in June for the 41st time.

White has been adamant that an all-star game in June does little to help seniors receive football scholarships when signing day comes about four months earlier.

“Our work doesn’t stop just with this game. Our work starts Monday,” White said. “We get on these schools that couldn’t make it, and we send out film and transcripts and SAT scores. Our job is to get these guys signed Feb. 1, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Despite the sparse attendance and apparent ongoing dispute with the NIAA, White called the inaugural event a success and vowed it will return next year.

“Any time you can pull off an event like this where you have young men maximize their opportunity for scholarships, it’s a success,” White said. “It will get bigger and better every year.

“It’s a great way to start. We’re not finished at all. Our goal is to work together with the NIAA, to work together to make this happen for these young men. The moment we can work together, it’ll be a bigger game for Las Vegas.”