The 2025 Prep Bowl gets underway on Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium. That is where the state's top high school football teams will take home championship trophies in seven classes: Nine-Man, 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A.
One voice that has been a Prep Bowl mainstay is the former host of the WCCO Morning News, Dave Lee.
Lee, who hung up his WCCO microphone in 2021, says this year's Prep Bowl could be his last.
"I think so. My wife makes fun of me because I've probably said that the last five, six years," Lee said on his old show, the WCCO Morning News now with Vineeta Sawkar.
Lee added that it's been 50 years since he started doing play-by-play.
"You know, it might be time to kind of turn the reins over, but it's still fun," he explains. "I still like it. As a little kid, you couldn't wait for those state tournaments, and that's really the only reason I do it. It was just kind of a special time of the year."
If it's in fact his final Prep Bowl, Lee says it will be tough to step away from the mic, just like it was when he stepped back from his role on WCCO Radio after over three decades.
"It was hard the last time at the Good Neighbor, but it's just, you know, when it's fun, it's fun, right? I think what a nice place to be when you want to step down when you still like it, but you don't want to step down. You probably think you should," said Lee.
He also says that getting to know the teams and players has been one of his favorite things about doing the games.
"You really don't have a vested interest in who wins, you just want to watch these kids play and just have a great time," explains Lee. "They're not going to forget it. So it'll be fun. And it's, of course I did them when they're at the (Metrodome). We did them when they were over at the Gopher Stadium for a couple of years and now in U.S. Bank Stadium where the kids love to play."
Prep Bowl Schedule - All games on Ch. 45 or online via KSTP-TV.
Friday
Class 1A: 10 a.m. Minneota vs. Breckenridge
Class 4A: 1 p.m. Orono vs. Kasson-Mantorville
Class 2A: 4 p.m. Jackson County Central vs. Goodhue
Class 6A: 7 p.m. Edina vs. Moorhead
Saturday
Nine-Player: 10 a.m. Hills-Beaver Creek vs. Hillcrest Lutheran Academy
Class 3A: 1 p.m. Waseca vs. Annandale
Class 5A: 4 p.m. Spring Lake Park vs. Chanhassen