FRIDAY NIGHT IS FOR THE PREPS.

When the NCAA in May lifted its ban on Friday-night college football games, it did so quietly and discreetly, hoping the low-key approach would camoflage the serious impact this decision could eventually have on high school football.

It worked for the most part. Most sports fans across the country have reacted to the decision with a collective so what?

Who cares that ESPN will televise a handful of Friday-night games involving teams from mid-level conferences, right? That shouldn't affect high school games across the country, especially those in smaller towns where deep-rooted passion for the local team is passed on from one generation to the next.

Well, it's not so simple as that. True, last Friday's nationally televised game between UNLV and Northwestern probably didn't affect anyone in Odessa, Texas, where high school football is embraced with a fanatical devotion, or even in Woodland Hills, where Taft likely didn't lose any paying customers for its game against Crenshaw.

But just because it's UNLV against Northwestern this year doesn't mean it won't be Notre Dame vs Texas next year.

The point is, if ESPN draws big audiences this year for it's mid-level games, the bigger conferences will take notice. Before you know it, high school football will go head-to-head with Florida State and Ohio State, and that's not fair to anyone.

``It's about tradition, and Fridays have always been for high school football,'' said Moorpark coach Tim Lins. ``Down the road, this is a decision that can definitely affect our revenue, and I think that's wrong. Friday nights belong to high school football and that's how it should stay.''

Colleges have always been able to play on Fridays, but an NCAA bylaw said any Friday football telecast or cablecast had to be completed by 7 p.m. That rule has been changed, no doubt the result of the financial windfall national television provides.

``It is compounded by certain conferences and institutions seeking the national spotlight and additional revenue that a televised game brings,'' said Grant Teaff, the American Football Coaches Association executive director and former Baylor coach.

Teaff is opposed to the decision.

``The action by the NCAA, in my personal opinion, is a mistake,'' Teaff said.

Nevertheless, with the scarcity of airtime on Saturdays, the Western Athletic (WAC) and Mid-American (MAC) conferences, both of which crave exposure, quickly took advantage by scheduling games on Friday nights.

Presently, the impact on high school football is minimal, but if the bigger schools sign on in the coming years, that will change. Imagine how many fewer fans will attend an Odessa High game if Texas is playing on television the same night?

The likely effect: a dramatic decrease in gate and concession revenue, the lifeblood for high school sports.

This wasn't a decision made by college coaches, many of whom are troubled by the prospect of hurting prep sports. But they have to play when the schedule says they have to.

``In smaller towns and cities where colleges make the decision to play on Friday nights, there will be an immediate negative impact on local high school football as fans have to decide whether they will support their high school football team or their college team,'' Teaff said. ``Nationally televised games will almost certainly have a negative effect on high school football attendance.''

Teaff is right. Let's hope the NCAA is listening.