How Our Sports Game Day Programs Have Grown Over 6 Years
What is a Game Day Program?
A game day program is a printed or digital booklet distributed at high school and college sporting events, combining team information, game coverage, athlete features, and sponsor advertising to engage fans and optionally raise funds for the team. Story of the Season has revolutionized game day programs by making them more accessible to high school teams and by introducing interactivity and personalization to the publications. Story of the Season is the first company to provide weekly digital game day programs. Allowing teams to capture memories from an entire season and have a meaningful end of season keepsake.
Our School and Team Growth
Story of the Season is entering its 6th year of providing high school sports teams with the best game day programs. Just like the high school sports landscape, our sports game day programs have evolved and changed. We went from producing only high school football media guides to working with every high school sport under the sun. We wanted to take a moment to appreciate how our game day programs have evolved tremendously yet our mission of helping high school head coaches has remained untouched.
One of the biggest changes we’ve seen in the last 6 years is the number of teams we’ve been able to work with. In 2021 we worked with just 12 high school/college football teams. This fall, we will be working with close to 150 football/fall sports teams to provide them with a fantastic game day program and weekly magazine coverage. In the past 6 years we have worked with over 450 schools and colleges to help them with their game day programs, recruiting materials and to share their story.
We’ve grown not only in quantity but in national reach. In 2021 most of our teams were located in the midwest, with only 7 states represented. This fall our game day programs will be used in 24 states ranging from California all the way to New Jersey. Over the 2025-2026 school year we’ve had teams across 34 states. Our media guides have become most popular for Texas, California, Illinois and Minnesota teams. Texas right now is our hot spot with over 24 fall teams.
Fundraising with Game Day Programs
Not only have our game day programs taken the country by storm but we’ve also helped teams raise meaningful funds. Our game day programs are a fantastic way to engage fans and promote the team while also helping teams raise money. Game day programs are the best high school sports fundraiser as they allow local businesses to support and get valuable views on their business. Over the past 6 years Story of the Season has helped raise over 2 million dollars for high school sports teams. Game day programs are the truly best way for a team to raise money.
In 2025, our game day program and weekly magazine clients, Marcus Football (TX) and Caddo Mills Football (TX), each raised over $100,000 with Story of the Season. They utilized our fundraising materials while also bundling the game day program ads into their existing sponsorship packages. The best way to raise a lot of money with game day programs is to offer sponsorship packages that build in value and bundle the ad spacing in.
And it’s not just big football teams that find success. Our top two fundraising teams this spring were two Florida baseball teams. Stoneman Douglas and Key West each raised over $20,000 with their Story of the Season game day program. Our top fundraising teams always have a sort of tiered sponsorship system. No matter how established your sponsorship packages are, Story of the Season’s game day programs fit seamlessly into pre-existing fundraising packages.
Expanding into New Sports
One of the biggest growth opportunities has been expanding our game day programs into a multitude of sports. When Story of the Season first began publishing game day programs, football was the only sport we serviced. In the last 6 years we’ve covered a variety of sports ranging from soccer, basketball, hockey, baseball, lacrosse, track and field, wrestling, flag football and even bowling. These sports are slightly different from football, as 2-3 games are played per week instead of just 1 game. Our non-football game day programs include multiple game recap with highlights, photos and stats from every game played. No game or moment is forgotten.
We’ve had the opportunity to capture some incredible seasons with our game day programs. In the past year we captured over 10 state championship seasons across a variety of sports. We’ve worked with the #1 ranked teams in the country like Mater Dei Football (CA), Stoneman Douglas Baseball (FL) and Delbarton Lacrosse and Hockey (NJ). We’ve been trusted by the best to ensure their seasons are unforgettable.
The Future of Game Day Programs
Story of the Season has come a long way in 6 years. We’ve grown from a small game day program publisher to an authority in high school sports media. Like any good dynasty, we aim to keep evolving and in turn keep winning. Our goal is to make high school sports game day programs accessible to every team in the country, because every team deserves to share their story. We’re excited for the next chapter and to make the 2026-2027 season unforgettable.
Ready to launch your own game day program? Get a quote today at www.storyoftheseason.com/leadform
