Varsity News Network operates an online communication platform for high-school athletic departments, offering customized websites, mobile apps and an advertising network. The platform also produces media content targeting athletes and parents. It is used by more than 1,500 schools across 40 states. The company plans to use freshly raised capital for national expansion and to launch a mobile app. With the scheduled release of VNN 2.0 in early 2016, users will be able to create profiles to connect with families and teammates and upload and share content. Founded in 2011 by CEO Ryan Vaughn and based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the company recently closed a $3.7M funding round led by Arsenal Venture Partners. Varsity News Network (VNN) provides turnkey websites for high school athletic departments that aggregate player stats, dynamic schedules and rich media pulled from social channels. The product offers affordable, easily managed, data-rich sites that give all players visibility beyond local media coverage. VNN has grown to 250 schools in 14 states and says it supports hundreds of thousands of students and their families. The company is Grand Rapids, Mich.-based and was started just over two years ago. VNN raised an additional $3 million to scale nationwide and to launch its first app. Prior capital included $552K from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund and a $1.09M partial close last February. Varsity is a Grand Rapids, Michigan–based news network that develops custom online publications covering high school sports. Launched in July 2010 through Momentum-MI, the network is a collaborative effort between traditional and community sports journalists. It aims to provide media coverage for every high school sport, from football to field hockey. The company says it will use the recent funding to expand its commercialization efforts. Varsity is actively hiring a Sales & Marketing Account Executive to support growth and monetization.

Total raised

$7M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Sep 2015