H0W ARE SHRINE BOWL
PLAYERS AND COACHES
SELECTED?

 
    The selection process of the Kansas Shrine Bowl All-Star Football teams is long and difficult but not complicated. The Board of Directors has always strived to make the system as fair as possible with no Shriner having any part in the selection (except for enforcing the accepted procedures).
    The player selection process begins by inviting all Kansas football coaches to nominate players from their squad whom they believe to be qualified and deserving of selection to the all-star squad. Coaches can nominate only players expected to graduate with their class at the end of their senior year. Nominees must also have played in at least six football games during their senior year. Nominees should be individuals that the coach feels would be a good representative of the, school and community. Players not nominated by their coach are ineligible to be selected.
    The Shrine Bowl office computerizes the list of nominees (usually over 400 statewide) and sends lists of the nominees to all daily newspapers as well as selected high school football oriented weekly papers, TV and radio stations.
    Roughly 80 nominee lists and all star ballots are sent and usually about 40 ballots are returned. From the list of nominees, the media vote on the top 11 offensive players and the top 11 defensive players. They may not vote for more than 2 players from a school and they must vote for at least two 8-man players.
    The Shrine Bowl office receives the ballots and totals them listing the votes received for every nominated player. The list is divided into players on each side of the east-west boundary line. In this manner, the top 22 vote receivers in the east and also in the west are indicated.
    The mail media ballot selection list is then’ presented to the media judging panel. The judging panel consists of the top prep football writers from the Topeka Capital, Wichita Eagle, and a few other large dailies. Their job is to vote to break ties in the mail balloting and to-adjust the election list for needed positions and to compensate for players who may have received too much or too little media attention (and votes). The possible reasons for changes of this nature are many, but could be a very good player on a team that did not win any’ games and consequently did not get any votes. They also insure that no more than two players are selected per school. When they finish, 22 east nominees and 22 west nominees are finalized as selected all-stars.
    Both lists of selected all stars are then increased by 12 when each of the Shrine Bowl coaches add two players. The assistant Shrine’ Bowl coaches are to add 2 players each from;
their school size classification on their half of the state. They are each to add the top two players not already selected by the media. They cannot add a player from a school in which the media has already selected two players. Also, they can select no more than one player from a school. The head coach may add 2 more from any size classification but one of them must be designated as a kicking specialist.
    The completed selection lists of 34 east all- stars and 34 west all-stars are released at the Kansas Shrine Bowl Hall of Fame banquet held each year on the 1st Saturday in January.
    The head coach each year is selected from the assistant coaches of the previous year. His selection is determined by a vote of the entire camp staff and a final decision of the Shrine Bowl Board of Directors. Five assistant coaches are invited by the Shrine Bowl based on their finish in the state high school football playoffs. The top finishing coaches on each side of the east-west dividing line, 6A through 2-lA are invited. When a top finishing coach has coached in the Shrine Bowl during the past 4 years, he is by-passed to the next top finishing coach.
    The Shrine Bowl recognizes that this system of selecting players and coaches occasionally creates some inequities and questions. The process of narrowing a prime list of over 400 nominees to only 68 selected players leaves many chances for oversight and opens the door for criticism. Possible changes to the selection procedures are constantly being studied and policies are always open to review. But at the current time, we know of no way to perform this task that is more fair or equitable.
    The next Kansas Shrine Bowl Game will be the 35th Anniversary Event. It will be held July 26, 2008, in Emporia, along with several ancillary events, such as the Banquet, Parade, 5K Charity Run, Arts & Craft Fair, Kids Fair, High School Combine, All-Star Cheer Clinic, All State Masonic Band Camp, and Charity Poker Run. Please plan now to participate in this truly worthwhile and fun event benefiting Shriners Hospitals for Children.