Midway board member pushes UIL to return playoff streaming rights to local districts

Board member Colin Witt updated trustees on a statewide effort to change UIL policy so local school districts can retain broadcast rights for playoff games prior to state finals.

Witt told the board he presented a proposal to the UIL legislative council asking that districts have the first right to broadcast their playoff games and that the UIL reserve only the state finals themselves for centralized production. He said the UILs current contract with a national vendor (the NFHS Network) places many playoff games behind a paywall and often provides low-quality local production and player identification. Witt said he argued the current arrangement "monetizes the work of 14 to 18 year old children," and that several council members privately told him his argument was new to them, though the legislative council committee ultimately took no action at that meeting.

Witt asked the board to consider endorsing a resolution (a first draft was included in the board packet) and to help him share the idea with other districts ahead of the UIL legislative council meeting in October. He said the UIL staff and some council members expressed sympathy but also noted they are constrained by large, and currently confidential, contractual commitments that may total seven figures annually and were negotiated by the University of Texas System.

What that means for Midway families: if implemented, the change would allow local districts and local broadcast partners greater control over quality, accessibility (including free or advertiser-supported models) and community presentation of playoff contests up to state finals. Administration asked trustees to consider helping craft a leaner, clearer resolution text for the July meeting and to identify one or two board members to work with Witt on outreach to other districts.