St. Edward and Maple Heights celebrated state high school football titles last weekend, while officials from the Ohio High School Athletic Association lamented yet another decline in tournament attendance.
The six championship games played this year drew just over 35,500 fans — about 3,500 less than last year, which was 9,000 less than the year before that. And those numbers matter: Football tournament revenue accounts for a third of the OHSAA’s $12 million annual budget.