With warmer weather and summer activities taking center stage in Kansas, a dozen football coaches, 68 of the Sunflower State’s best graduated football players, dozens of Shriners, and countless volunteers are turning their attention to one of the state’s best time-honored traditions, the Kansas Shrine Bowl All-Star football game.
The 2010 edition of the state’s premier all-star game, the 37th in the storied series, will be played at 7 p.m. July 31 on Brandenburg Field at Carnie Smith Stadium on the campus of Pittsburg State University. It will be the third Shrine Bowl to be played in Pittsburg, with previous games staged in 2002 and 2006.
This year’s game will bring one significant change that will get more high schools represented on the field. The Shrine Bowl Board of Directors has determined that not more than one player from any Kansas High School will be chosen to participate in the football game.
Previously, up to two players per team had been allowed to be chosen. The new rule means 68 Kansas High Schools will be represented in the game.
Micah Smith of Crest High School in Colony is a member of the East All-Star squad. He is the fourth player to be selected to the Shrine Bowl in Crest High history.
The 2010 Shrine Bowl weekend of activities will include many events that attendees look forward to seeing each year. Among them is the annual Kansas Shrine Bowl parade, one of the largest parades in the state.
Other events will include the 3rd Annual statewide cross-country meet, bringing together 60 of the state’s top (high school graduate) harriers. Fifteen men and fifteen women from both the East and the West have been chosen to compete in an event that will be staged just prior to the football game, and will end with the runners crossing the finish line after entering the stadium as part of the pregame festivities.
Other Shrine Bowl activities on game day will include the 4th Annual Charity Road Race that is run in conjunction with the all star race.
Two other Shrine Bowl traditions, the 26th Annual Masonic All-State Marching Band, and the 10th Annual All Star Cheer Clinic, will involve several hundred young people from all parts of the Sunflower State.
Again in 2010, the Shrine Bowl will conduct a pro-style high school combine and clinic, which gives high school players the chance to measure their skills in several areas. The Shrine Bowl Combine will be conducted by Ron Freeman and Paul Coffman.
All of this would not be possible, of course, without the strong backing of the five Kansas Shrine Temples and many Kansas Shriners, who view the Kansas Shrine Bowl as their signature event, and their single best fund-raiser.
Proceeds from all Shrine Bowl events support the Shriners Hospitals for Children, a network of 22 hospitals that provide expert, no-cost orthopedic, burn, and spinal care to children under 18. Children are admitted free to Shriners Hospitals for Children without regard for race, religion, nationality, creed, or relationship to a Shriner.
Advance reserved chair back tickets for the game are $20. Adult general admission tickets are $12 in advance. Student tickets (K-12) are $6 in advance. Game day tickets, if available, are $1 more at the gate.
Additional information and tickets can be purchased through the Shrine Bowl office by calling 1-800-530-5524. The Shrine Bowl website address is ksshrine.com and the e-mail address is [email protected]. Online ticket orders are located at http://www.pittstate.edu/office/tickets/athletics/index.dot.
Kansas Shrine Bowl participants gearing up
