Football season is back and it doesn’t get much better than Friday nights in Texas. That is, unless you extend it into Saturday.
The Southwest Showcase, presented by Oxbow Social Media Monitoring, is a new tradition entering its second year. The event will take place this weekend — Friday, September 11 and Saturday, September 12 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Featuring 12 teams from the Lone Star State in six attractive match-ups, the Showcase is also supported by CareNow, Dave & Busters and 24 Hour Fitness.
It all kicks off on Friday night, when Rockwall Heath faces Garland at 5 pm, followed by Rockwall vs. Mesquite Horn at 8:30 pm.
Saturday’s four-game slate begins with Highland Park playing Prosper at 11 am, Trinity vs. Lancaster at 2 pm, LD Bell vs. Midland at 5 pm, and Byron Nelson facing Birdville in the nightcap at 8 pm.
“The Dallas Cowboys and the Jones family have been so good to Texas High School Football over the years,” said Kevin Ozee, Arlington ISD athletic director and director of the Southwest Showcase. “The Southwest Showcase is another example of the Jones family wanting Texas High School Football to be played in the best stadium in the world. It is a special treat to watch the eyes of all the players, band members, cheerleaders, and coaches when they step onto the field at AT&T Stadium for the first time. Lifelong memories are made at AT&T Stadium.
“We are very appreciative of the Cowboys and Jones family for all that they do for high school football. We look forward to many years of a great partnership.”
Tickets: Daily tickets are good for all games that day. Tickets are on sale at the North Ticket Office at AT&T Stadium, which is adjacent to Entry A on the North side of the building. The North Ticket Office is open during regular business hours weekdays and both the North and South Ticket Offices will open one and a half (1.5) hours prior to kickoff on event days. The South Ticket Office is adjacent to Entry F. Advance tickets may be available at the campus and/or athletic ticket office of each participating school.
Tickets are $6.00 for Students and $8.00 for adults when bought at the participating schools the week of the event
Tickets the day(s) of the event will be $10 for all.
Tickets are valid for all games for the day purchased but there is a No Re-Entry policy in place at AT&T Stadium. If you leave the stadium, you must purchase a ticket to re-enter.
The Southwest Showcase was created by local athletic directors with the goal to organize, highlight and promote the Texas high school athletic experience and those dedicated student-athletes who participate in these extracurricular activities with a spirit of fun, respect and sportsmanship.
Either way, buckle up for some great high school football this weekend. More information at www.southwestshowcase.net.
A Local School Will Win a $5,000 Unrestricted Grant
At this year’s Southwest Showcase, Oxbow Social Media Monitoring App will be launching the Oxbow Challenge to all 12 participating schools. The top school will win $5,000! Participating schools are proactively arming parents with a tool to teach their children about how to safely and smartly use social media. The school that enrolls the most new Oxbow users before October 1, 2015 will win a $5,000 unrestricted grant. Each school is armed with a unique user code. School supporters can visit www.oxbowapp.com for more information. The Oxbow Social Media Monitoring App is free for the first 30 days.
Student Athletes and Social Media Pitfalls: New App Monitors and Controls Athletes’ Social Media Posts
The Southwest Showcase has partnered with Oxbow Social Media Monitoring, a natural fit because so many high school students are active on social media. As more and more student-athletes make headlines for inappropriate conduct and offensive posts on social media, concerned coaches don’t have to sit on the sidelines and watch these youngsters jeopardize scholarship opportunities, college aspirations and tarnish their team’s image. An obnoxious Twitter handle can one day turn off college recruiters. An inappropriate picture or immature comment can impact scholarships or a school’s reputation.
These are the realities school administrators are faced with today. Schools and parents need tools to help kids use social media responsibly.
Oxbow Social Media Monitoring has designed a groundbreaking new social media monitoring app to give parents and/or coaches a real-time way to monitor, review and take more control over their children’s and student-athlete’s social media content. This innovative app delivers unmatched real-time capabilities to prevent and stop negative situations before they happen because the internet is an unforgiving place.
With Oxbow’s app, parents or coaches can see exactly what their children see on their Instagram feed at the same time, from their own device. In addition to efficient monitoring capabilities, users also have the unique option to employ Oxbow’s patent-pending technology that gives parents, coaches and/or other trusted adults the ability to approve or deny each post before it is released into cyberspace for the world to see.
Proactive school administrators, athletic directors and coaches are introducing tools such as Oxbow to better protect their students. In today’s world, communication takes place immediately both in person and electronically. Often times, this communication occurs without a filter or the opportunity to think about the consequences the message may entail.
Oxbow provides parents with an educational tool as they train their children in the proper uses of social media. As with most things, Oxbow is but a piece of the overall education and communication between parents and their children.
As our sponsor, we are proud to stand with them in promoting good habits in our young men and women. As an organization, we look forward to additional education for our coaches and schools as we move forward working with our future leaders.
“Thank you Oxbow for working with and through TAPPS for the benefit to our member schools and the families they serve,” said Bryan Bunselmeyer, Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) executive director.
Most recently, The National Federation of State High Associations has partnered with Oxbow to help coaches and athletic directors prevent lasting social media mistakes.
With Oxbow Social Media Monitoring App as a part of their game plan, coaches and parents can teach their student-athletes to think first, post later and effectively dodge messy scandals and life-altering mistakes.
Enjoy the great football at this weekend’s Southwest Showcase, and check out the new Oxbow Social Media Monitoring App by visiting oxbowapp.com or find it in the iTunes store.
