''ESPN HS'' was a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

sports

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

published monthly during the school year in 25 markets around the United States. Founded as ''SchoolSports'' magazine in 1997, the publication changed its name to ''RISE'' in 2006 and was purchased by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

in January 2008. In 2011, the magazine's title was changed to ''ESPN HS''. The magazine ceased publication in September 2012 after ESPN decided to close its high school sports unit.

History

Sensing the high school sports market was being undercovered by local newspapers and television stations, ''SchoolSports'' was founded in 1997 in the Greater Boston area. In addition to being one of the first publications dedicated to covering high school sports, SchoolSports also gave student-athletes a voice by allowing them to submit articles for publication in the SchoolBeat section. The magazine's distribution model was also unique, as the publication was sent directly to area high schools free of charge. Over the next 10 years, the magazine expanded to 25 markets and was published in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Miami, Detroit, Houston, Colorado, Arizona, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Central Florida, St. Louis, Minnesota, Oregon, San Antonio/Austin, Indiana and New Jersey. All told, the magazine had a peak monthly circulation of more than 1,000,000. In conjunction with the magazine's 10th year of publication in 2006–07, the name was changed from ''SchoolSports'' to ''RISE'' to reflect its emergence as the nation's leading teen lifestyle magazine in addition to its top-notch prep sports coverage. The magazine's name was changed again to ''ESPN HS'' in 2011, but that name lasted only one year before the publication was discontinued.

Other Ventures

In the summer of 2006, RISE first put on a groundbreaking high school basketball showcase called the Elite 24. The game brought together the nation's top 24 high school basketball players, regardless of school year, for a game at Harlem's historic Rucker Park. The game's official name is the

Boost Mobile DISH Wireless L.L.C., doing business as Boost Mobile, is an American telecommunications company and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation. Boost Mobile is the List of mobile network operators in the United States, fourth largest wirele ...

Elite 24 Hoops Classic. Beginning during the 2006–07 school year, RISE teamed with

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. The drink is owned and manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was develope ...

to continue Gatorade's long-standing Player of the Year program. Beginning during the 2007–08 school year, RISE began publishing GIRL, a first-of-its-kind magazine dedicated solely to girls' high school athletics. Now- WNBA star Elena Delle Donne, then attending and playing for Ursuline Academy in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, was the first cover subject of GIRL in the fall of 2007.

References

External links

ESPN Acquires SchoolSports Inc. - Publisher of RISE Magazine

Recruiting Nation Football - ESPN

Recruiting Nation Football - ESPN

Recruiting Nation Football - ESPN
* https://web.archive.org/web/20080501094410/http://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/playeroftheyear/ {{ESPN Monthly magazines published in the United States Defunct sports magazines published in the United States Hs Free magazines High school sports in the United States Magazines established in 1997 Magazines disestablished in 2012 Defunct magazines published in Boston Defunct teen magazines published in the United States