ESPNU Presents Summer of Next

Premier High School Athletes Compete in Elite Events; More than 25 games, 60 hours of Programming
Concludes with Fifth Annual High School Football Kickoff

ESPNU presents the second annual Summer of Next, a series of marquee events featuring the nation’s top high school athletes across five sports.   The summer programming begins with The Opening on July 8, continues with the Under Armour All-America Lacrosse, the EYBL Finals at NIKE Peach Jam, Adidas 64, Adidas Nations, the Senior and Big League Softball World Series, the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp, American Legion Baseball World Series, and the High School Football Kickoff.  Overall, the Summer of Next will feature more than 25 games, 60 hours of programming, and hundreds of elite student-athletes.

Summer of Next Events

• NIKE Opening at the NIKE World Headquarters in Oregon
  When:  July 8, July 9 and July 10 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPNU
  • Elite high school football players take part in four-day camp presented by NIKE.
  • The SPARQ Rating National Championship (July 8) and NIKE 7ON tournament’s preliminary rounds (July 9) and championship (July 10) will each be televised
  • Eight of the top 10 players, including four of the top  5, on the ESPN 300 are expected to participate
  • NIKE Opening: Roster
• Under Armour All-America Lacrosse at Towson University in Towson, Md.
  When:  July 12  at 5 p.m. on ESPNU
  • Top high school seniors, selected by Inside Lacrosse Magazine, compete in prestigious lacrosse event
  • The Boys Classic roster includes Jake Seau, the son of former NFL linebacker and 12-time Pro Bowler Junior Seau
  • Programming Note: Undeniable: The Road to the Under Armour All-America Game airs Thursday, July 10 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU. The documentary profiles Seau and Shack Stanwick, who are both top echelon recruits
• EYBL Finals at NIKE Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C.
  When:  July 20 at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. on ESPNU
  • Twenty four teams comprised of the nation’s elite high school basketball players compete in a tournament which culminates on ESPNU.
  • Both semifinals (July 20 at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.) and the championship (3 p.m.) will be televised
  • Numerous players on the ESPN 100 are expected to participate
  • Notable alumni: Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter and LeBron James
• Adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas, Nev.
  When:  July 27 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on ESPNU
  • Teams comprised on nation’s top high school basketball players participate in the finals of a national tournament
  • The all-star game will be televised at 4 p.m. followed by the championship game at 6 p.m.
  • Numerous players on the ESPN 100 are expected to participate
  • Notable alumni: James Harden and Marcus Smart
• Adidas Nations in Los Angeles, Calif.
  When:  August 4  at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on ESPNU
  • Camp for elite high school basketball players from the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin American
  • Players learn from current and former NBA players, college players and other respected ambassadors of basketball
  • ESPNU will televise the third place game (7 p.m.) and the championship game (9 p.m.)
  • Numerous players on the ESPN 100 are expected to participate
  • Notable alumni: James Harden, Kevin Love and Derrick Rose
• Senior League and Big League Softball World Series in Sussex County, Del.
  When:  August 8 at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. on ESPNU.  August 9 at 5 p.m. on ESPN2
  • Elite softball teams compete in both the Senior League Softball World Series and the Big League Softball World Series
  • ESPNU will televise the second semifinal of the Senior League Softball World Series (August 8 at 1 p.m.) followed by both the Big League Softball World Series (4 p.m. and 7 p.m.)
  • ESPN2 will televise the Big League Softball World Series Championship (August 9 at 5 p.m.)
• The Elite 11 Quarterback Camp at the NIKE World Headquarters in Oregon
  When:  August 17, at 8  p.m. on ESPNU
  • 2014 Emmy-nominated feature program
  • ESPN analyst and former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Trent Dilfer works with top high school quarterbacks from around the nation in a one hour documentary
  • Quarterbacks are invited to the Elite 11 finals after attending a regional camp
  • Dilfer and other coaches work with each quarterback to improve their play
  • Quarterbacks from the ESPN 300 (duel threat and pocket passer) are expected to participate
  • Notable alumni: AJ McCarron, Aaron Murray, and Jameis Winston
• American Legion World Series in Shelby, N.C.
  When: August 19, at 8  p.m. on ESPNU
  • Nation-wide summer baseball league culminates in a one game championship on ESPNU
  • Elite high school baseball players team up with other in their regions for play throughout the summer.
  • Programming note: The entire preliminary rounds of the tournament (14 games) will be carried exclusively on ESPN3
  • Notable American Legion Baseball alumni: Tony Gwynn, Greg Maddux, and Albert Pujols
• Under Armour Elite 24 in Brooklyn, N.Y
  When:  August 23 at Noon and 7 p.m. on ESPNU
  • Under Armour hosts elite high school basketball players for a showcase event
  • ESPNU will televise the slam dunk competition (noon) and the showcase game (7 p.m.)
  • Numerous players on the ESPN 100 are expected to participate
  • Notable alumni: Kevin Love, John Wall, and Kemba Walker 
• High School Football Kickoff
  When:  August  22-24 across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU
  • ESPN begins the high school football season with a 10 game slate between Aug. 22–24 on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU
  • Two games will be televised on August 22 (6 p.m. and 9 p.m. on ESPNU), five games on August 23 (noon on ESPN, 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and 9 p.m. on ESPNU and 9 p.m. on ESPN2) and three on August 24 (noon on ESPN2, 3 p.m  on ESPN., and 4:30 p.m. on ESPNU)
  • Full details, including game schedule, can be found here

Summer of Next Elements
Social Media: @ESPNU is the social destination throughout Summer of Next. Fans can join the conversation by tagging their tweets with #SummerofNext

RecruitingNation.com: ESPN’s online recruiting platform  will provide fans with in-depth analysis of Summer of Next, including  player and class rankings and scouting reports for select events.  Watch highlights of Summer of Next and interact with Recruiting Nation’s reporters and analysts by following @ESPNRNFball and @ESPNRNHoops

ESPNU
The 24-hour college sports television network airs more than 650 live events annually and offers over 1,000 original studio shows. ESPNU has seen a steady increase since its inception on March 4, 2005 and is now in 74 million households. The brand is also available in high definition on ESPNUHD, now in over 20 million homes. The network has long-term carriage agreements with all 10 of the top multichannel TV providers – Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV (Channel 208), DISH Network (Channel 141), Mediacom, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV and AT&T U-verse.

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Media contact: Derek.Volner@ESPN.com and @DerekVolner