If I Had Elon Musk’s Money…

[Frozen Tundra]

Let me just preface this by saying this is meant to be a fun, imaginative idea. Before anyone spouts off about how the money could be better spent on real world things, get it in your heads that not everything has to be so serious. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming…

If I had Elon Musk’s money, I think it would be cool to have a TRUE Indiana high school sports network. I’d split the state up into nine regions (see pic below of a rough idea on what that could look like). I’d get a digital tv channel and have sub-channels to go along with it. Those of you with antennas know what I’m talking about. For example, 50.1 would be for northwest Indiana. 50.2 would be for north-central Indiana. 50.3 would be for northeast Indiana. And so on.

Each region would have their own broadcast teams and would air a game of the week each Friday night during the football season. If two teams from different regions played each other then the regional channel of the home team would broadcast it. Other weeknights or Saturday mornings/afternoons/nights during the fall would broadcast boys/girls soccer or girls volleyball. In the winter, six days worth of boys/girls basketball would be broadcast. In the spring, six days of baseball, softball, or boys volleyball would be broadcast. 

On Sundays, each region’s channel would have a studio show with a panel containing a host and analysts (media member from the region and a former player and/or coach) discussing their sport of expertise. For example, in the fall you’d have an hour-long block of football, an hour-long block of girls volleyball, an hour-long block of boys soccer, and an hour long block of girls soccer. To fill the rest of the time throughout the week, I’d air the following:

1. Pre-taped interviews with coaches and players.

2. If enough independent footage existed, highlights of games from the day or from the previous night. 

3. A ticker showing all scores from the day or the previous night. Upcoming games for the night or the next day would also be shown.

And to top it all off, each region would have their own website dedicated to high school sports coverage of their whole region. This would also include the other IHSAA sports like tennis, golf, cross country, track & field, wrestling, gymnastics, and swimming.

If you’re still reading at this point, what other ideas would you have to expand upon this? Or if you had Elon’s money, would you spend it a completely different way to promote/support Indiana high school sports?

[foxbat]

9 hours ago, Frozen Tundra said:

If you’re still reading at this point, what other ideas would you have to expand upon this? Or if you had Elon’s money, would you spend it a completely different way to promote/support Indiana high school sports?

 

For all teams in the state, I'd match their gates and concessions for the regular season as a donation to their schools.  Maybe it'd be a way to get communities to increase folks coming to the games.  Increased gates and concessions would help football, not to mention butts in seats, and the added matching could go to schools to help them in non-sports areas too.

For every school, I'd upgrade their sports facilities/equipment, with a realization that an endowed maintenance fund would also need to be established for upkeep, and also put an equal amount into non-sports activities for the schools.  Additional stipends to round out coaching staffs for schools that were limited, plus equal matching for academic area personnel for the schools too.

[Bobref]

I would immediately triple the game fees for all athletic officials at the high school level and below. And I’d give the IHSAA enough money to hire a new assistant commissioner whose only job was to oversee officiating, and give him or her enough of a budget to do the job right.

[BDGiant93]

10 hours ago, Frozen Tundra said:

Let me just preface this by saying this is meant to be a fun, imaginative idea. Before anyone spouts off about how the money could be better spent on real world things, get it in your heads that not everything has to be so serious. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming…

If I had Elon Musk’s money, I think it would be cool to have a TRUE Indiana high school sports network. I’d split the state up into nine regions (see pic below of a rough idea on what that could look like). I’d get a digital tv channel and have sub-channels to go along with it. Those of you with antennas know what I’m talking about. For example, 50.1 would be for northwest Indiana. 50.2 would be for north-central Indiana. 50.3 would be for northeast Indiana. And so on.

Each region would have their own broadcast teams and would air a game of the week each Friday night during the football season. If two teams from different regions played each other then the regional channel of the home team would broadcast it. Other weeknights or Saturday mornings/afternoons/nights during the fall would broadcast boys/girls soccer or girls volleyball. In the winter, six days worth of boys/girls basketball would be broadcast. In the spring, six days of baseball, softball, or boys volleyball would be broadcast. 

On Sundays, each region’s channel would have a studio show with a panel containing a host and analysts (media member from the region and a former player and/or coach) discussing their sport of expertise. For example, in the fall you’d have an hour-long block of football, an hour-long block of girls volleyball, an hour-long block of boys soccer, and an hour long block of girls soccer. To fill the rest of the time throughout the week, I’d air the following:

1. Pre-taped interviews with coaches and players.

2. If enough independent footage existed, highlights of games from the day or from the previous night. 

3. A ticker showing all scores from the day or the previous night. Upcoming games for the night or the next day would also be shown.

And to top it all off, each region would have their own website dedicated to high school sports coverage of their whole region. This would also include the other IHSAA sports like tennis, golf, cross country, track & field, wrestling, gymnastics, and swimming.

If you’re still reading at this point, what other ideas would you have to expand upon this? Or if you had Elon’s money, would you spend it a completely different way to promote/support Indiana high school sports?

Broadcast licenses don't work like that. You'd have to find open channels in each area and apply for licenses in those spaces. Channel 50, for example, would only service one area. You couldn't split up the digital channels to show in different areas of the state. So, for example, Channel 13 in Indianapolis has digital channels, but they only show in channel 13's footprint.

With the internet and the amount of people doing podcasts and things, the cost of equipment, etc., you really wouldn't need Elon's money to do this sort of thing any more.

 

[Frozen Tundra]

4 minutes ago, BDGiant93 said:

Broadcast licenses don't work like that. You'd have to find open channels in each area and apply for licenses in those spaces. Channel 50, for example, would only service one area. You couldn't split up the digital channels to show in different areas of the state. So, for example, Channel 13 in Indianapolis has digital channels, but they only show in channel 13's footprint.

With the internet and the amount of people doing podcasts and things, the cost of equipment, etc., you really wouldn't need Elon's money to do this sort of thing any more.

 

Forgive my stupidity but didn’t the whole state used to have access to channel 4 to watch Cowboy Bob, Janie, Sammy Terry, IU/Purdue basketball games, IHSAA football and basketball state championships, etc.? I’ve heard folks talk about channel 4 and its programming with fond memories despite being from outside the Indy tv market. I was applying that same concept for my idea.

[PDB26]

I’d offer grass fields for everyone who wants them. Maintenance and eventual replacement included.

[Coach Nowlin]

49 minutes ago, PDB26 said:

I’d offer grass fields for everyone who wants them. Maintenance and eventual replacement included.

COULDN"T AGREE MORE

 

 

 

 

[tango]

Ev. Memorial would have free tuition and an incredible football stadium on campus. It actually wouldn't even take Elon-type money. 

[Daniel_Bragg]

1 hour ago, Frozen Tundra said:

Forgive my stupidity but didn’t the whole state used to have access to channel 4 to watch Cowboy Bob, Janie, Sammy Terry, IU/Purdue basketball games, IHSAA football and basketball state championships, etc.? I’ve heard folks talk about channel 4 and its programming with fond memories despite being from outside the Indy tv market. I was applying that same concept for my idea.

Channel 4 in some areas is also Channel 29 in others around the state.  For instance, Sheridan doesn't have Channel 4, but it actually is.  Channel 4 is just found on Channel 29 when using an antenna.

[First_Backer_Inside]

I would have a dome or covered stadium built for every single high school football team in the state. I would give them the option on whether they wanted natural or artificial turf on the inside, and let someone smarter than me figure out how that would all work. I would then pay for any maintenance needed going forward on every teams indoor facility. With the money I had left over I would pay @Donnie Baker mom, Phylis, back for all the sticky ones he has stolen from her over the years to pay for his GID booster membership, his nudie magazines, and any other thing that Mr. Baker himself would only ever buy that most other people would probably never think of purchasing. 

[Frozen Tundra]

42 minutes ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

I would have a dome or covered stadium built for every single high school football team in the state. I would give them the option on whether they wanted natural or artificial turf on the inside, and let someone smarter than me figure out how that would all work. I would then pay for any maintenance needed going forward on every teams indoor facility. With the money I had left over I would pay @Donnie Baker mom, Phylis, back for all the sticky ones he has stolen from her over the years to pay for his GID booster membership, his nudie magazines, and any other thing that Mr. Baker himself would only ever buy that most other people would probably never think of purchasing. 

@Donnie Baker should’ve spent that money more wisely. I heard from his neighbor to the north, Mitchell, that Donnie has racked up quite the amount in fines by the Homeowners Association because he refuses to move his dilapidated, eyesore of a boat from his property.

[Donnie Baker]

1 hour ago, Frozen Tundra said:

@Donnie Baker should’ve spent that money more wisely. I heard from his neighbor to the north, Mitchell, that Donnie has racked up quite the amount in fines by the Homeowners Association because he refuses to move his dilapidated, eyesore of a boat from his property.

I sowed my boat 10 years ago. I swear to God I did

[BDGiant93]

4 hours ago, Frozen Tundra said:

Forgive my stupidity but didn’t the whole state used to have access to channel 4 to watch Cowboy Bob, Janie, Sammy Terry, IU/Purdue basketball games, IHSAA football and basketball state championships, etc.? I’ve heard folks talk about channel 4 and its programming with fond memories despite being from outside the Indy tv market. I was applying that same concept for my idea.

Channel 4's coverage area is at this link. I believe Sarkes Tarzian also owned WTTK out of Kokomo, IN which simulcasted 4's signal. Tarzian's company still owns a handful of other Indiana radio stations. Looks like they're down to two TV stations (in Reno, NV and Chattanooga, TN) these days.

https://publicfiles.fcc.gov/tv-profile/WTTV/contour-maps

 

Edited September 19, 2025 by BDGiant93

[BDGiant93]

10 minutes ago, BDGiant93 said:

Channel 4's coverage area is at this link. I believe Sarkes Tarzian also owned WTTK out of Kokomo, IN which simulcasted 4's signal. Tarzian's company still owns a handful of other Indiana radio stations. Looks like they're down to two TV stations (in Reno, NV and Chattanooga, TN) these days.

https://publicfiles.fcc.gov/tv-profile/WTTV/contour-maps

 

Looks like the owner of channel 4 did not acquire the Kokomo license until 1987 which was after Sarkes Tarzian sold WTTV. Just clarifying.

[Donnie Baker]

2 hours ago, First_Backer_Inside said:

I would have a dome or covered stadium built for every single high school football team in the state. I would give them the option on whether they wanted natural or artificial turf on the inside, and let someone smarter than me figure out how that would all work. I would then pay for any maintenance needed going forward on every teams indoor facility. With the money I had left over I would pay @Donnie Baker mom, Phylis, back for all the sticky ones he has stolen from her over the years to pay for his GID booster membership, his nudie magazines, and any other thing that Mr. Baker himself would only ever buy that most other people would probably never think of purchasing. 

My mom Phyllis said I earned all those sticky singles 

[WWFan]

First implementation for me would be covering all Youth League cost for the conference. Alot of other things too but id start there. 

[Fkfootball]

If I had Elon Musks money, I wouldn't live in Indiana. Lol.

[Yuccaguy]

I would IMMEDIATELY build a state of the art Stadium in STL and have a 'new' expansion team in place in STL! 

I would also hire the most informed individuals that could provide a team and a competitive franchise within a few seasons to placate the fandom of the STL Metropolitan area. 

STL has been screwed twice with ownership that has only been concerned about providing tepid competition, and always looking for another opportunity for $$.  It became absolutely obvious when SILENT STAN Kroenke and his band of thugs, lied (with the approval of the NFL) to relocate to LA.  

I could care less where the balanced franchise for the NFL would be located (San Diego??)...  But STL got hosed TWICE! 

 

[roaringthunderdlr]

If I had Elon Musk's money, I would turn Cambridge City Lincoln into a program worth billions of dollars just for craps and giggles.