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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TOP HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR QUARTERBACKS COMPETE FOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN FINALS OF THE FIRST-EVER FOOTACTION NFL HIGH SCHOOL QUARTERBACK CHALLENGE

NEW YORK (April 2, 1997) -- Fifteen high school senior quarterbacks have won their hometown competitions. Each earned the right to advance to the national finals. On April 12 one winner will be named the national champion of the inaugural FOOTACTION NFL High School Quarterback Challenge.

The winners from 15 regional competitions across the country will battle at Walt Disney World in Orlando prior to the filming of the annual FOOTACTION NFL Quarterback Challenge television show. The high school standouts will be tested in accuracy, distance and speed-and-mobility on the same course as the pros.

"We’ve assembled 15 of the finest young quarterbacks in the nation," said Ralph Parks, president and CEO of FOOTACTION USA. "That’s never been done before. This group represents the best of the best."

The FOOTACTION NFL High School Quarterback Challenge, which began during Super Bowl XXXI festivities in New Orleans, featured the top 25-area high school senior quarterbacks in 15 markets as selected by panels of local media and high school scouts. In addition to New Orleans, other markets which hosted events were Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Ft. Lauderdale, Jacksonville, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.

"We’ve seen some fine competitions throughout the country, and each of the quarterbacks have represented themselves well," stated Sara Levinson, president of NFL Properties, Inc. "We hope the young students we see today will be the the stars of the NFL tomorrow."

The FOOTACTION NFL High School Quarterback Challenge was promoted in each of the 15 markets through radio advertising, in-store signage at FOOTACTION locations and posters and other collateral materials in area highs schools.

FOOTACTION USA sponsors the FOOTACTION NFL High School Quarterback Challenge and provides support for the program. NIKE and The Princeton Review, the nation’s leader in SAT preparation, are associate sponsors. Integrated Sports International (ISI), a full-service sports marketing company based in East Rutherford, NJ, managed the execution of each local event and will manage the finals in Orlando, as well.

For more information on the FOOTACTION NFL High School Quarterback Challenge, please call the FOOTACTION NFL High School Quarterback Challenge Hotline: 201-507-6087.

FOOTACTION NFL HIGH SCHOOL QUARTERBACK CHALLENGE
PARTICIPANT LIST - NATIONAL FINALS, ORLANDO