Caz Kosinski and Robert Bowen are ambitious and tenacious. They tend to turn a cynical eye toward authority. All of that will serve the two Brunswick High students well as they mature into adulthood and wind their way through life.

Right now, though, it has them in hot water with the Maine Principals’ Association.

Bowen, a senior, and Kosinski, a junior, are two of the brains behind the Brunswick High Sports Network YouTube page. For the last couple of years, BHSN has streamed Brunswick High games for free. In the regular season, that’s not a problem. It’s a big hit with Dragons fans, especially with grandparents scattered across the country.

Come tournament time, it gets … complicated. The MPA has contracts with a few streaming services, giving them exclusive rights to broadcast tournament games across the state. For basketball, by far the most popular tournament in Maine, the National Federation of State High School Associations Network has exclusive rights to stream the regional quarterfinals. Houlton-based radio station WHOU has exclusive rights to stream the regional semis and finals. Maine Public Broadcasting airs the state finals.

An annual pass for the NFHS Network is $79.99, or you can buy it by the month for $13.99. An annual subscription to WHOU is $85, or pay by the month for $13.99. WHOU, according to MPA director Mike Burnham, pays the MPA about $12,000 a year for the rights to stream the Maine high school basketball regional semifinal and final games.

This is where the good intentions of Kosinski, Bowen and BHSN crash into the brick wall that is reality.

The contracts are binding. The MPA is obligated to protect the deals it has with its broadcast partners. It doesn’t matter if a grandfather in Illinois would rather tune in to the BHSN YouTube page. The contract is the contract. Bowen and Kosinski point to other playoff games they’ve broadcast with no pushback; girls hockey, for example, but basketball is a different animal, and they drew attention.

Last year, the BHSN guys were shut down after broadcasting a half of the Brunswick boys basketball team’s regional quarterfinal against Kennebunk at the Portland Expo. Last week, BHSN broadcast Wednesday’s boys basketball semifinal win over Edward Little. Again, the MPA put the kibosh on it.

Kosinski and Bowen said that since they were issued student credentials for Wednesday’s game, they assumed they could stream the game.

“We thought they were fine,” Kosinski said, adding his father reached out to the MPA this week and received no response.

Things were not fine. This week, the MPA made it clear to Brunswick athletic director Kaili Phillips that BHSN absolutely cannot live stream playoff games. In an email, Phillips told Bowen and Kosinski they could face legal ramifications if they continued. BHSN is not a recognized student club at Brunswick High.

Naturally, officials were reluctant to talk about it. Even when you’re 100% in the right, as the MPA is on this one, the hint of legal action against students is a bad look. Burnham, the MPA director, declined to comment when asked about the BHSN situation at the Augusta Civic Center during Friday’s Class A North finals. Burnham said it’s an issue for the Brunswick administration. While watching the Dragons take on Camden Hills, Phillips was succinct. While she enjoys the work BHSN does, MPA tournament games are off limits, and they know that.

Rep. Dan Ankeles, D-Brunswick, said he’s considering introducing legislation next December, assuming he’s reelected to the State House in November, that would make it easier for student broadcasts like BHSN’s to work tournament games. Ankeles admitted the MPA contracts aren’t vague, but if nothing else, seeing how the legislative process works and taking part could be a good civics lesson.

Whatever happens with whatever bill Ankeles writes, he wants it clear it’s not intended to be an adversarial shot at the MPA.

“We should have this discussion and talk about why this is the way that it is, and ask ourselves if this is the right way to continue doing it,” he said. “It’s more of a way to give these students a chance to speak up for themselves in a meaningful way… Personally, I think it’s pretty harmless, but I understand as a legislator there’s more to it.”

Above everything else, above putting on fantastic tournaments in full arenas that capture the state’s imagination every February vacation week, the MPA’s mission is education. So let’s try to make this an educational tool. Perhaps in the future, the MPA and its broadcast partners could be willing to let student-run broadcasters operate a game in the early rounds of the tournament. Maybe they can work alongside the professionals, who can offer tips and real-world experience.

It’s a discussion worth having. As it is, BHSN did a radio-style broadcast of Friday night’s regional final. Fans tuning into the YouTube page (in the middle of third quarter, there were 40 people watching the stream) were greeted by a dark screen, with just the game score and clock, while Kosinski and Bowen called the action.

Kosinski and Bowen push the envelope, hoping it doesn’t finally tear.