A SPECIAL REPORT: PREP SPORTS

SIGN OF TIMES: High school athletes have a new challenge: money. . . . No less an authority than Anaheim’s Bill Theriot foresees the day when Orange County school districts will need full-time staff fund-raisers. Theriot’s Fund Raising Unlimited has brought in $1.8 million for USC athletics since 1978 by conducting walk-a-thons. . . . “Bingo, carwashes and bake sales aren’t going to cut it,” he said. “There are people out there with money; all they have to do is be asked.”

Gear Up

The cost of a high school football uniform has increased 94% in the last three decades.

1960s: $147.50

1970s: $191.00

1980s: $243.00

1990s: $286.00

Source: Chick’s Sporting Goods