VIA PRESS RELEASE

Throughout the 2012 High School Football season Sports Illustrated will profile 10 programs from across the United States, selected for having overcome obstacles that include dilapidated facilities, crime-ridden communities, severe funding deficits and disasters, both personal and natural. SI editors have selected nine of the schools and together, SI and POWERADE have launched a nationwide search for the 10^th school that has persevered through hardship. The 10 programs will be unveiled throughout the season as a part of one of the largest High School Football editorial initiatives in Sports Illustrated’s history. 

Starting today players, coaches, parents, teachers, classmates and fans can log on to www.Facebook.com/SportsIllustrated to enter an Underdog team in their community. Submissions will be accepted through October 23 after which a 10^th finalist school will be selected. Fans will be able to vote for which team receives the grand prize, a $25,000 program grant and a trip to New York City and SI’s annual “Sportsman of the Year” awards gala. 

“The genuine teamwork, perseverance and sportsmanship we’ve found at these high schools are remarkable and make for extremely compelling editorial content.” said BJ Schecter, executive editor of Sports Illustrated’s SI.com. “This series illustrates that the most inspirational sports stories don’t always come from the pros or big budget programs.”

On SI.com each Underdog school’s story will be told though video of extensive first-person interviews with coaches, players and administrators. Two inspirational athletes, who embody perseverance, were interviewed for the video series on SI.com— POWERADE partner, NBA champion and recent Olympic gold medalist LeBron James and paralyzed retired NFL football player Eric LeGrand.

“Every athlete and every team has obstacles they have to power through, and POWERADE stands for the hard work and belief it takes to overcome those adversities” said Yolanda White, Group Director, Marketing, POWERADE. “This series is a way to shine a light on some of the teams that have succeeded in doing so and celebrate others that are on the journey.”