Colorado Preps

What Colorado Preps does

Colorado Preps is a privately-held digital media company founded in the summer of 2003 by Kevin Shaffer that provides comprehensive coverage of Colorado high school athletics. The company operates exclusively within the United States, serving a Colorado-only audience that includes parents, families, athletes, coaches, and fans. Coverage spans 16 sports categories, including football, basketball, baseball, softball, wrestling, volleyball, track and field, cross country, soccer, tennis, golf, hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, flag football, and swimming, across all CHSAA classifications. The platform combines news, scores, rankings, tournament brackets, photography, and podcasts under the Colorado Preps brand.

The company's product ecosystem comprises a primary website (coloradopreps.com), native iOS and Android mobile applications, multiple podcast series (Colorado Preps Show, Colorado Preps Weekly, and Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show) distributed via Spreaker, a professional photography sales storefront (photos.coloradopreps.com), and the newly launched Colorado Preps Elite All-State Magazine (inaugural edition released in June 2026). Distribution extends across owned digital channels plus social media properties on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram. The company is reported to operate with 11-50 employees and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

The business model centers on free consumer-facing content distribution complemented by direct-to-consumer monetization through photography sales and the new magazine product. The company is operated as an independent family business with founder Kevin Shaffer and his wife Lanette involved in operations; no venture capital, private equity, or parent-company ownership is disclosed in source materials. No proprietary technology, APIs, or AI/ML capabilities are described, and pricing information is not publicly disclosed.

Name

Colorado Preps

Legal name

Colorado Preps

Website

https://coloradopreps.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Colorado Preps is a privately-held, Colorado-based digital media company founded in 2003 that provides comprehensive coverage of high school sports across 16 sports categories, serving athletes, coaches, families, and fans via website, mobile apps, podcasts, photography platform, and magazine.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

High School Sports Media

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAKACAA

Collegiate Athletic Conferences & Associations

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Sports (Leagues, Teams, Events, Venues)/Collegiate & Amateur Sports Organizations (NCAA, Federations, Clubs)

SECONDARYMPAKAOAA

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Sports Streaming Platforms

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Sports (Leagues, Teams, Events, Venues)/Sports Streaming & Digital Broadcasting

SECONDARYEDALAIAN

Athletics Fundraising, Sponsorships & NIL Support

Education/Student Services & Campus Operations/Athletics, Recreation & Fitness

Keywords

• High school sports coverage
• Youth athletics media
• Prep sports reporting
• Sports news website
• Athlete exposure services

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Morgan

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Colorado Preps is a digital media company that produces and distributes comprehensive coverage of Colorado high school athletics across 16+ sports, including football, basketball, baseball, soccer, track and field, wrestling, volleyball, softball, and others. Its deliverables include original news articles, real-time scores and rankings, state tournament brackets, multiple podcast series, professional game photography for sale, and a periodic all-state print and digital magazine.

Product overview

Colorado Preps operates as a unified digital media platform offering comprehensive Colorado high school sports coverage through its primary website, mobile applications for iOS and Android, podcast series (Colorado Preps Show and Colorado Preps Weekly), a professional photography service (Colorado Preps Photos), and the Colorado Preps Elite All-State Magazine. The ecosystem connects athletes, coaches, families, and fans through news coverage across 16 sports including football, basketball, wrestling, volleyball, baseball, softball, track & field, cross country, soccer, tennis, golf, hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, flag football, and swimming.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Colorado Preps Weekly: Weekly podcast show covering Colorado high school sports
• The Colorado Preps Show
• Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show
• Colorado Preps Elite All-State Magazine

Products and services

• Colorado Preps Website Primary digital publishing platform providing comprehensive coverage of Colorado high school sports including news articles, scores, rankings, team information, and analysis across 16+ sport categories.
• Colorado Preps Mobile App (iOS and Android) Native mobile applications for iOS and Android that deliver Colorado Preps sports coverage, scores, news, and notifications to users on mobile devices.
• Colorado Preps Podcasts Weekly podcast series including Colorado Preps Show, Colorado Preps Weekly, and the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show, covering Colorado high school sports analysis, coach interviews, and game previews and recaps. Distributed via Spreaker and other podcast platforms.
• Colorado Preps Elite All-State Magazine Print and digital magazine featuring all-state team selections across all sports and classifications in Colorado high school athletics.
• Colorado Preps Photos Dedicated photography storefront (photos.coloradopreps.com) offering professional sports photography from Colorado high school games and events for browsing and purchase by athletes, families, and fans.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Hudl: Hudl is a video and analytics platform for high school and college athletes and teams. Adjacent to Colorado Preps in the HS athlete ecosystem — Hudl owns the highlight-video/recruiting workflow, while CP owns editorial coverage; both compete for HS athlete mindshare.
• Ball N (BallN): BallN is a digital platform delivering high school sports content, scores, and recruiting news across states. Comparable to Colorado Preps as a digital-first HS sports media property targeting athletes and families.

Direct peers

• Prep Redzone: Prep Redzone covers high school football recruiting and athlete exposure nationally. Similar to Colorado Preps in providing HS athlete visibility content, but specialized to football instead of multi-sport.
• MaxPreps: MaxPreps is the dominant U.S. high school sports coverage platform (scores, rankings, news across 30+ sports). It directly competes with Colorado Preps in the same category — comprehensive HS sports coverage for athletes, families, and coaches — but at national rather than state scale.
• SBLive Sports (Scorebook Live): SBLive Sports delivers digital high school sports coverage, rankings, and live scores across multiple U.S. states. Directly comparable to Colorado Preps as a state/multi-state HS sports media outlet with editorial, social, and event content.
• Prep Hoops: Prep Hoops provides high school basketball recruiting coverage including rankings, event coverage, and athlete profiles. Comparable to Colorado Preps in serving the prep athlete exposure market, though focused on basketball rather than full sport coverage.

Regional players

• Mile High Sports: Mile High Sports is a Colorado-based sports media network operating complementary websites (DenverStiffs, HockeyMountainHigh, MileHighLife) linked directly from Colorado Preps' site. Serves the same Colorado sports audience with overlapping coverage of pro and college teams.

Broad incumbents

• NFHS Network (PlayOn): NFHS Network streams live high school sporting events nationally via subscription. Comparable to Colorado Preps as an HS sports content platform, but operates at scale and focuses on live event broadcasting rather than editorial coverage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/coloradopreps
• Facebookfacebook.com/ColoradoPreps
• Instagraminstagram.com/colorado_preps/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/colorado-preps

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Colorado Preps