[2] Sensing the high school sports market was being undercovered by local newspapers and television stations, SchoolSports was founded in 1997[3] in the Greater Boston area.

The magazine's distribution model was also unique, as the publication was sent directly to area high schools free of charge.

Over the next 10 years, the magazine expanded to 25 markets and was published in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas/Ft.

Worth, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Miami, Detroit, Houston, Colorado, Arizona, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Central Florida, St. Louis, Minnesota, Oregon, San Antonio/Austin, Indiana and New Jersey.

Now-WNBA star Elena Delle Donne, then attending and playing for Ursuline Academy in Delaware, was the first cover subject of GIRL in the fall of 2007.