Since its launch in January of 2004, Score Atlanta has progressed into a true trailblazer that can fulfill wide-ranging initiatives, while delivering convenience and cutting-edge services to its partners and expanding audiences.
The last two decades have presented challenges and opportunities in an ever-changing business and media landscape and the team at Score Atlanta—led by its founder and President IJ Rosenberg—has embraced a ‘roll-up-your sleeves spirit’ to grow in spite of conditions that in some cases seemingly had the entire industry up against the ropes. This resilience and collaborative effort have transformed Score Atlanta from a bi-weekly newspaper and small marketing company at its inception, to the go-to destination for all Georgia High School Sports and sports marketing and promotional needs for businesses, teams and events of any scale.
The enduring presence Score Atlanta has established over the years has presented partnerships with many of the most groundbreaking organizations, brands and names in sports. Simultaneously, Score Atlanta became the base of operations for a rising portfolio of prominent events that are owned, and also built from the ground up, by Score.
This substructure and the tremendous partnerships underpinning the foundation of Score Atlanta’s business model, has allowed Score Atlanta to reach its audiences across all major platforms. This includes multiple websites, which each can be accessed from the main site ScoreAtl.com, all of Score Atlanta’s active social media accounts, daily webcasts and shows that are broadcasted live on YouTube and the National Federation High School Network from Score Atlanta offices right off of Interstate 400 in Roswell, GA. and the historic television package with PeachtreeTV and Atlanta News First.
Score Atlanta’s mission to be the go-to destination for Georgia High School Sports offers statewide coverage for all Georgia High School Association Fall, Winter and Spring sports. Scoring updates are provided on the main site, as well as the popular Georgia High School Scoring App that Score launched in 2014. State Championship coverage and guides are distributed digitally for each sport and are provided as part of Score Atlanta’s partnership with the GHSA. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also partners with Score Atlanta to expand their coverage and calls on Score Atlanta to provide results, schedules, blogs and championship game previews and recaps.
The commitment to providing in-depth high school sports coverage helped facilitate a partnership with the Corky Kell Classic and Score become a co-owner of the event in 2010. The Corky Kell, which started in 1992, has grown into the largest high school football event in the country. Since the acquisition, the event has been renamed to the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic and is a four-day, 11-game event that concludes with a four-game marathon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Classic was a significant asset for Score Atlanta and its enormous growth and prestige inspired Score to bring an entirely new portfolio of events to the scene. Score Atlanta has since launched the Corky Kell 7-on-7 Tournament —a three-day event that will be hosted by Georgia Tech this year, the Georgia Elite Classic and National Signing Day Frenzy. The Georgia Elite Classic is an all-star showcase played in Rome, Georgia each December and has already seen more than 1,400 college football signees participate in it over the first decade. Additionally, by partnering with CBS46 (now Atlanta News First), Score Atlanta also added the Great Atlanta Bash and the Sheriff’s Cup Invitational to join the Classic in its season-long Drive for the GHSA State Title broadcasting package that televises 34 total games—the largest high school television package in the nation. This year, the Atlanta News First App will be able to provide a television component to the 7-on-7, similar to how it broadcasted the ceremony last month to reveal the new Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic logo at MBS.
Outstanding partnerships, a top-tier digital team, on-air talent, experts and special guests all teamed up to capture the excitement of Georgia high school football and provide a first-rate viewing experience. Former Atlanta Falcons Director of Game Day Operations and Producer Roddy White was brought on to lead the broadcast and Georgia’s top high school football experts were brought on to call the action. This includes veteran play-by-play analyst Matt Stewart, DawgNation’s Brandon Adams, On3’s Rusty Mansell, Score Atlanta’s Craig Sager II and Najeh Wilkins, and Game Day Host Kaylee Mansell.
Score Atlanta maintains a tremendous partnership with the Arthur M. Blank Foundation, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United. The innovative spirit driving Blank’s business empire and his team has allowed Score Atlanta to offer a variety of services that range from printing the annual AT&T Falcons Training Camp Guide, to print, marketing and promotional needs. Recently, Score Atlanta was involved in the MBS Eco Project, which celebrated MBS for becoming the first professional sports stadium in the world to achieve LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
Score Atlanta helped work out the deal with Mercedes-Benz Stadium to play the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic in the venue and used all of its state-of-the-art production features to give high school football the most groundbreaking coverage in its history. It also has been tasked to implement the GHSA’s Video Review Protocol which will be tested on Saturday at the Classic at MBS and used at the state championship games in December. The Classic is one of the 50 events MBS has housed since opening in 2017.
Score Atlanta also provides all the print and store front signage needs for the National Guard, and the Georgia Swarm are long-time partners that work with Score on various print and promotional needs. Score continues to grow its customer base which now includes GeorgiaConstructionCareers.com, Northside Hospital, HendrickCars.com, Ford, NAPA, Sports Turf, IBEW, Levy Restaurants, GSMACNA, MTI, the PGA Superstore, Gatorade, Army, Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, the Southeastern Conference, Chick-fil-A and PlayOn Sports, the National Federation High School Network and DawgNation among others.
The scale of Score Atlanta’s output has grown at a rapid rate in the last few year as Rosenberg and the Score crew launched the Lakeside High School Sports Hall of Fame and the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame. Hundreds of people celebrated the most recent and fifth HOF class at Lakeside and the Inaugural Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame established itself in October as more than 800 gathered at the College Football Hall of Fame and thousands watched around the country as the first class was inducted.
Score Atlanta’s General Manager Graham David, Chief Editor and Lead Writer Craig Sager II, Director of Digital Content Seth Ellerbee and Video Producer and Content Creator Najeh Wilkins have been on board during Score’s latest growth spurt and Rosenberg also welcomed back the company’s original Art Director Laura Grieve last year ahead of the inaugural Hall of Fame to be Score’s Director of Creative Services. Damon Grieve was also brought on this year to be the Director of Development and New Business and their impact has been significant to not only keep up with the demand, but to introduce more opportunities for Score to continue its growth. This group works out of the Roswell offices, while Ellerbee is stationed in Macon, Georgia and provides a critical role in bolstering Score Atlanta’s reach and coverage. Additionally, Score Atlanta has many former employees and part-time contributors that bring years of experience with them when the occasion calls for a larger team. Score also places a heavy emphasis on hiring young talent to come in with eager minds and fresh ideas. Our newest member of the Score Atlanta team, Daniel Smith, has been instrumental in handling day-to-day tasks and assisting wherever and whenever needed.
“We love what we do,’’ said Rosenberg. “We will turn 20 in January and it has been a very interesting run. For someone like myself who spent the first 13 years of his sports career at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and then turn around and start a company and be involved in the building of Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Major League Soccer championship are just two examples of what makes the work so much fun. We have been fortunate to receive a lot of help in the community and I can’t say enough about the team here. They deserve the credit.’’
For more information on Score Atlanta, call Graham David at 513-600-6557 or email him at GDavid@ScoreATL.com.
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