If Armwood or Apopka wins a state championship in 2014, could they possibly play for a national championship?

That's something the Florida High School Athletic Association is open to discussing, with all teams under the organization's umbrella.

In its final meeting of the 2013-2014 school year, the FHSAA's Board of Directors agreed to a concept offered by Paragon Marketing, allowing FHSAA member schools to be eligible to play in a national football postseason bowl game to determine a national champion. It would be similar to the National High School Invitational in basketball.

Under this proposal, the FHSAA says "the highest nationally-ranked football team in Florida may be selected to compete in one nationally televised contest, dependent on the decision of a selection committee and evaluating national rankings, that would likely air on the ESPN family of networks".

Here's the catch. In order for the FHSAA to officially allow teams to compete, Paragon Marketing would have to find sponsorships and interest from other state associations, among other factors.

There have long been debates about a legitimate national champion among high school football teams. The National Federation of High School Associations, which governs all 50 state associations, held a vote in 1979 to come up with a plan for national championships. It was never acted upon.

Cheerleading, drill and dance, rugby and wrestling have their own national championships, but they're not sanctioned by the NFHS.

In 2011, Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) and Trinity (Ky.) discussed playing a "national championship" game in late December to determine a true nation-wide champion, but the game was dismissed by the NFHS due to them not sanctioing those games.

An explination for why the NFHS is against a national title game was documented in a February 2011 issue of High School Today.

"… perhaps the most compelling reason against national championships … is the belief that a state championship is and should be the ultimate dream for a high school individual or team … Any type of national competition would detract from the importance of state high school championships and enhance the emphasis on elite athletes and teams."

A "mythical" national championship is awarded yearly to the best high school football team(s) in the country based on rankings from USA Today and the National Prep Poll. Lakeland won twice, in 2005 and 2006.