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ESPN announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Student Sports, Inc., a premier high school-focused digital media and event production company based in Torrance, Calif.

Folks,

--Raymond Hines III
Publisher/Owner of GatorCountry.com

ESPN announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Student Sports, Inc., a premier high school-focused digital media and event production company based in Torrance, Calif.

Founded by grassroots sports marketing and media pioneer Andy Bark, the company’s president and CEO, Student Sports has been a leader in high school sports content for 22 years. Student Sports assets include StudentSports.com and DyeStat.com, and more than 160 events such as Elite 11, Area Code Baseball and Nike Combines/Nike SPARQ Mini Camps, all of which will be integrated into ESPN’s recently announced high school initiative ESPN RISE. In conjunction with the acquisition, ESPN will enter into a licensing and content sharing agreement with SPARQ, the dynamic athletic training and assessment company based in Portland, Ore.

“It is an exciting time for ESPN RISE,” said James Brown, senior vice president, ESPN RISE. “Adding Student Sports to our organization enhances our position in high school sports significantly. This acquisition is in lock step with our goal to celebrate high school athletics, utilizing the expertise across all of our assets - representing a collection of more than 40 years of experience in this space.”

ESPN RISE is a multimedia brand that will deliver high school sports content across all of ESPN’s platforms including programming and events, digital media and publishing.

“Andy Bark has been an innovator and leader in high school content for more than 20 years,” said John Kosner, senior vice president and general manager, ESPN Digital Media. “Adding Andy and the Student Sports team will enable ESPNRISE.com to offer rich coverage to fans and athletes across high school sports — a great complement to the assets we have in Scouts, Inc., RISEMag.com and Hoopgurlz.com.”

Bark said: “We have served millions of students who play sports - as well as their parents, coaches and fans - for many years, and to continue to do so as a part of ESPN and its authentic and integrated platforms is a dream come true.”

ESPN RISE represents ESPN’s commitment to providing its core fans, the high school athlete, and its fan base with content that examines and celebrates high school sports in a unique way – across all of ESPN’s platforms. ESPN has a 20-year-history of covering high school sports (1980s) including boys’ and girls’ basketball, football and lacrosse competitions.

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