Cookeville beats out Clarksville for state football championships

 The Tennessee high school football state championships will remain where they've been the past eight years — in Cookeville.

The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association's Board of Control voted 9-3 to keep the state championships at Tennessee Tech's Tucker Stadium for the next four years.

The board chose Cookeville over Clarksville.

"What makes Cookeville special is the people who have volunteered to help us host the BlueCross Bowl the past eight years and those who will be there for the next four," Tennessee Tech athletics director Mark Wilson said. "It's the personal touch and hospitality that we tried to exhibit to the Board Thursday."

Cookeville's pitch included testimonials from high school football coaches.

The board chose Cookeville despite concerns from board members regarding the conditions of Tucker Stadium. Funding for renovations for the stadium have been slow, Wilson said. The stadium has about 30 percent of the needed funding, but Wilson said he is confident the Cookeville community will step up.

"We're only one financial gift away," he said. "With the Board's decision (Thursday), that gives us continued momentum to keep fund raising and get this done in a quick time frame."

Cookeville's bid guaranteed $253,000 as well as 50 percent of ticket sales after it recouped that $253,000.

Clarksville, which had its presentation led by Austin Peay athletics director Ryan Ivey, Austin Peay football coach Will Healy and Visit Clarksville executive director Theresa Harrington, promoted a newly renovated Fortera Stadium as a top flight destination for the state title games and focused on its financial strong points. Clarksville's bid guaranteed $255,000 to the TSSAA for the event and up to $331,395 total with all perks.

"We're disappointed obviously," Harrington said. "We felt, and we still feel, we have the best facility to host the state championships. I thought our pitch was strong, but the Board of Control made their decision."

Some board members expressed concern about the seating capacity at Fortera Stadium, which has a maximum of 10,800 compared to Tucker Stadium's 16,500.

The TSSAA also voted on several measures regarding state tournaments in other sports:

• Division I basketball and Spring Fling will stay in Murfreesboro for the next four years.
• Girls soccer will stay in Murfreesboro for the next two years.
• Boys and girls golf will stay in Manchester at WillowBrook Golf Club for the next four years.

A spirited debate among Board of Control members dealt with the state golf site. WillowBrook has hosted the event for the past eight years. Old Fort Golf Course in Murfreesboro also has hosted.

The Board approved WillowBrook 8-4 despite a statewide poll by the TSSAA showing that 80 percent of golf coaches preferred Old Fort.

The cost for the TSSAA to use Old Fort would have been $30,000 each of the four years it hosted the tournament. However, the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce would have provided $6,000 to the TSSAA to help offset facility rental fees.

WillowBrook's financial package will cost the TSSAA $19,500 for 2017 and that will increase by 2 percent each year for the next three years.