NEWS RELERSE ESPN, INC. COMMUNICATIONS OEPRRTMENT ESPN PLFlZn, BRISTOL, CT DEDID-7454 f DGD| 7EEZOOO rii THE WORLDWIDE LEADER IN SPORTS For Immediate Release August 24, 2005 ESPN NETWORKS TO TELEVISE FOUR HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL GAMES Top-Ranked Players and Teams Featured; Nease at Hoover This Saturday ESPN and ESPNU will combine to televise four high school football games, beginning this Saturday, August 27, as Nease (Fla.) plays at Hoover (Ala.) at noon ET on ESPN. Three of the events, including the Nease vs. Hoover game, will be produced in conjunction with Paragon Marketing Group as part of the Old Spice Red Zone High School Showcase. The fourth high school football contest will feature the McDonald's Ohio vs. USA Challenge, which will pit defending state champions Tyler Lee High School (Texas) against Colerain High School (Ohio) on Friday, Sept. 9 at 8:00 p.m. on ESPNU. "We are continually excited about the opportunity to televise some of the best amateur matchups and athletes across our family of networks," said Burke Magnus, vice president and general manager, ESPNU. "With the launch of ESPNU, we are able to expand our coverage and provide additional exposure to high school athletics." Last year, ESPN2 televised Texas' South Lake Carroll against Denton Ryan. South Lake came out victorious as they defeated the Raiders 52-27 in the October 14th matchup. 2005 High School Football on ESPN and ESPNU 1 Nease (Fla.) at Hoover (Ala.), Aug. 27 - Live on ESPN at Noon ET Hoover finished last season 15-0 and was ranked fourth in the final USA Today Super 25 High School Football Rankings. Hoover is 42-2 over the last three years and is carrying a 23-game winning streak. Nease had a record of 11-2 in 2004 and is led by ail-American senior quarterback Tim Tebow, one of the top high school recruits in the nation. In 2004, Tebow accounted for 70 touchdowns and broke several state records, including most yards passing (4,286) and most total yards in a season (5,552) for any position. McDonald's Ohio vs. USA Challenge, Sept. 9 - Live on ESPNU at 9 p.m. ET The McDonald's Ohio vs. USA Challenge will feature Texas class 5-A State Champion Tyler Lee High School and Ohio Division I Champion Colerain High School to square off in the inaugural event at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. "This game will be blacked out in Texas Jenks (Okla.) at Springdale (Ark.), Sept. 16 - Live on ESPNU at 7:30 p.m. ET Jenks High School has won seven of the last nine Class 6A football championships in the State of Oklahoma. Springdale is one of the most talented teams in the nation and features Mitch Mustain who is ranked by many as the #1 quarterback in the country. The Springdale roster features five players who have received major Division I scholarships, including Mustain (Arkansas) wide receivers Andrew Norman (Arkansas) and Damian Williams (Florida), tight end Ben Cleveland (Florida) along with offensive lineman Bartley ESPN.COM Webb (Notre Dame). Bishop McDevitt (Pa.) at Berwick (Pa.), Oct. 7 - Live on ESPNU at 7:30 p.m. ET Berwick is coached by the legendary George Curry who has amassed 380 wins, six PIAA Class AAA state championships and three 1s1 place finishes in the USA Today Super 25 High School Football Rankings over his 37-year career. All-State running back Brant Quick, who rushed for 2,437 yards and 35 touchdowns in 2004, will lead the Berwick offense. Bishop McDevitt is led by one of the top running backs in the nation, LeSean McCoy, who rushed for 2,828 yards and scored 33 touchdowns last season, in addition, McDevitfs roster features highly regarded quarterback Jeremy Ricker, who recently committed to the University of Maryland. ESPNU ESPNU, the new college sports network, was launched in March 2005. The ESPNU schedule will feature more than 300 live events (regular-season and championships) in the network's first year. Action includes a variety of top football and men's and women's basketball mixed with baseball, softball, volleyball, lacrosse, ice hockey, wrestling and more. ESPNU also offer comprehensive studio programming, replays of ABC Sports, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Regional Television games, plus specials and more. In the 2005 Beta Research Cable Subscriber Study - Interest in Emerging/Mid- sized/VOD Networks, ESPNU was ranked sixth (tied) among men 18-34 for high interest in watching each network, out of the 21 mid-sized networks assessed. ESPNU has secured distribution agreements with DIRECTV, Adelphia, Mediacom, several smaller affiliates and is close to distribution agreements with others. The 24-hour television network is the key component of the multi-media ESPNU initiative that will deliver college sports content across ESPN's family of services, such as ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Mobile, ESPN Radio, ESPN Interactive, ESPN360, merchandising and more. -SO- Contact: Tilea Coleman at 860-766-2000; [email protected].