ESPN Launches ESPNRISE.com, High School Sports and Lifestyle Site

ESPNRISE.com, the news,
information and community resource for high school athletes, launches August 26. The site represents the confluence of multiple acquisitions and
initiatives by ESPN over the past 18 months. ESPNRISE.com will be a
complete source for national high school sports and lifestyle coverage,
as well as a community connecting 14- to 18-year-old athletes to each
other, their sports passions and friends and families. The launch is
the latest step in ESPN’s multiplatform commitment to highlighting and
celebrating high school sports.
“ESPNRISE.com is a
foundational pillar in ESPN’s multimedia commitment to high school
athletes, their development and coverage of their sporting achievements
and experiences,” said James Brown, senior vice president, ESPN RISE.
“Everything on ESPNRISE.com will be focused on delivering sports,
lifestyle and utility to high school athletes and their fans.”
ESPNRISE.com is powered by the combined resources, expertise and insights of ESPN and ESPN.com; School Sports Inc. – publisher of ESPN RISE, Gridiron, Hardwood and GIRL magazines and RISEmag.com, acquired by ESPN in December 2007; Student Sports Inc. – a premiere high school-focused digital media and event production company, acquired by ESPN in June; Hoopgurlz.com – acquired by ESPN in March 2008; ESPN Scouts Inc. – acquired by ESPN in 2006; and the nationwide community of high school athletes – whose user-generated
and submitted content will be integral to the site as it continues its
development in the coming months and years.
At launch, the site will
offer complete sections devoted to coverage and community surrounding
high school football and boy’s and girl’s basketball, and will devote
extensive coverage via dedicated ESPNRISE.com blogs for high school
lacrosse, baseball, softball, soccer and volleyball.
ESPNRISE.com will
also integrate and cross promote content with DyeStat.com (boy’s and
girl’s track & field/cross country) and with regional sites
CalHiSports.com (California) and MDVarsity.com (Maryland).
Additionally, ESPNRISE.com will feature the most in-depth community
integration of any ESPN initiative to date.
“In the past 18 months,
ESPN Digital Media has built and nurtured a robust online community
centered around millions of sports fans’ passions and a set of tools
that allow them to connect and share with each other,” said Rob King,
vice president and editor-in-chief, ESPN.com. “An important and, to
date, underserved part of that community is the young athlete. Those
student athletes will now find a new safe, central place to present
their collective and individual voices – to each other, to friends and
family and to the sports world on ESPNRISE.com.”
The three core aspects that ESPNRISE.com will provide for the high school athlete are community, coverage and lifestyle.