PRINCEVILLE (25News Now) – A small Central Illinois school is getting another chance to win $1 million for its football facilities after being selected as a finalist in T-Mobile’s Friday Night 5G Lights competition.
Princeville High School announced Thursday morning that it is among 40 schools nationwide competing for the grand prize, marking the district’s second consecutive year advancing in the competition.
The announcement also means another $30,000 for the district, bringing its total winnings from the competition over the past two years to approximately $60,000.
Princeville CUSD 326 Superintendent Dr. Tony Shinall says the money and national recognition mean a great deal to a community where the school serves as a gathering place for residents.
“It means almost everything,” Shinall said. “It’s where the community comes to see each other, to meet up, to see old friends and to watch our kids work. So it means a ton to this community.”
Shinall says the district has already put its previous winnings toward improvements to its athletic facilities.
The school initially received $5,000, which helped purchase stencils for painting the football field’s end zones and midfield logo.
Last year, the district received an additional $25,000 after advancing in the competition.
That money helped repair an irrigation system on the football practice field that failed around the beginning of the season. The district also used funding to address a deteriorating speaker system in the press box.
Shinall says the district is still deciding how to spend its latest winnings, hoping additional prize money could make larger projects possible.
“We’re still assessing. We have a couple things internally that we’ve talked about, but we really want to hold off and see if we can have a little bit bigger budget to work with,” Shinall said.
This year’s competition features a different format than the previous year.
Instead of competing against 24 other finalists in a single national competition, Princeville is now one of 10 schools in the Midwest bracket.
The winner of each of the four regional brackets will receive $250,000 and advance to a final round, where the remaining schools will compete for the $1 million grand prize.
Shinall says that money could transform the district’s athletic facilities.
Potential improvements include renovations to the press box, restrooms and locker rooms.
He says winning the grand prize could potentially allow for a complete overhaul of the facilities.
Princeville’s success in the competition has also highlighted the community’s ability to rally behind its schools.
Shinall credited district staff members for helping organize the campaign and using social media to reach supporters beyond the community.
He says last year’s competition taught the district valuable lessons about social media engagement and reaching influencers who could help spread the word.
For Shinall, however, the biggest factor behind Princeville’s success is the community itself.
“They don’t quit. They don’t. And even when the chips are down, our kids and our adults, well, they are not afraid of hard work,” Shinall said.
The superintendent says the benefits of winning would also extend beyond football players and students.
He believes a strong school district helps attract families to Princeville, supports property values and strengthens the community as a whole.
Community members can support Princeville in the competition by voting online.
Voting for the current round runs through October 25.
Shinall is encouraging residents throughout Central Illinois to support the school by voting every day.
Residents can cast their votes at VotePrinceville.com.
The district hopes that support will help Princeville advance to the next round and bring it one step closer to the $1 million grand prize.
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