Football is the cash-cow of high school athletics, especially when that school is a state champion.

Last season, the Williams Field Black Hawks posted an undefeated 14-0 season en route to its eventual win against Centennial in the Class 5A championship game.

Not only has that victory brought more notoriety and attention to the school, but it has afforded the athletic program and booster club opportunities to add top-notch amenities for players and fans and create new opportunities for people affiliated with Williams Field.

Earlier this year, Williams Field installed a state-of-the-art video board on the football field with money it earned through various sponsorships.

“This community has always been so supportive of our football program (even before the championship),” Athletic Director Darrell Stangle said.

Fan support has always been high for the Black Hawks, but sponsorships are where the increase in revenue has been apparent over the past year to allow the school to afford things like the new board.

Having results to back up a pitch makes selling the product to potential sponsors that much simpler, and Williams Field has had first-hand experience.

“It’s a little bit easier to go in and sell ‘support our team’ when you’ve got a state championship,” Stangle said. “We kind of parlayed the state championship into installing the video board and some things like that. That was all done through sponsorship money. There were no district dollars spent on that.”

Williams Field gaining more attention is good for the local businesses that already support the Black Hawks, as well as potential sponsors down the road that want to get involved, as well.

“When we go to local businesses as we ask for more than they’re used to giving, it’s easier for those businesses to go to their corporate levels and get the money (when we have a championship to back it up),” booster club president Katie Washburn said.

Washburn said the new board opens even more opportunities to make money for the school and businesses. Commercials could eventually find their way into games between plays or during timeouts at the football games.

Kona Grill, for example, is one of Williams Field’s sponsors, and every Black Hawks’ kickoff is coined as a “Kona Kickoff.” Fan attendance is high, so broadcasting advertisements during games could correlate to a greater influx of revenue for both parties.

“Hopefully more businesses will see this is a huge demographic of this community,” Washburn said. “People would much rather go to a place that supports the school.”

Williams Field is not solely focused on the potential money it can make from sponsorship deals. The school’s top priority remains its students and student-athletes.

“Their booster clubs go out and generate that revenue,” Stangle said. “Mainly it’s done by parent volunteers … to make sure the kids get fed team meals and they get some of the things the revenue we (currently) have can’t cover. (They want to make sure) the kids have a first-class experience in the football program.”

Williams Field has generated a lot of additional money over the past year, but its main goal is to create more opportunities for everyone involved at the school, not just the football program.

“Everyone works really hard to alleviate strain on the district, so between winning state and having such a supportive community, we’ve been able to see how effective we are with helping the school,” booster club member Steve Shepherd said. “It’s not just the football program that wins when you win state.”