Ellis County Sports Your source for Ellis County Sports News
Ellis County Sports report
WAXAHACHIE, TX — A partnership eight years in the making has brought together The Waxahachie Sun and Ellis County Sports Media, LLC as the premier hyperlocal content and sports-focused leaders in Ellis County.
The ultimate mission remains the same — to provide a first-class, community-first approach to storytelling and sports-centric events that ensure our student-athletes, coaches, programs and history shine as bright as ever.
These are your teams. And these are their stories. This just won’t be your grandfather’s brand of high school and beyond sports coverage. There will be countywide all-star games, the return of a sports gala with a celebrity speaker, new ways to consume sports coverage and celebrate our student-athletes, coaches and programs, and more.
The Sun and ECS both launched in 2018 out of a necessity to continue local media efforts under local leadership.
ECS operated for the next 4 years under the umbrella of local radio station KBEC 1390AM/99.1FM. During that time, Travis Smith, owner of ECS and former managing editor of the Waxahachie Daily Light, launched the All-Ellis County All-Star baseball and softball games and a successful live radio show dedicated to high school athletics.
ECS officially filed for its LLC in April 2023 and continued its commitment to provide local sports coverage through a digital-first approach at EllisCoSports.com. The team also honored more than 130 baseball and softball student-athletes during the 3rd and 4th annual All-Ellis County All-Star games thanks to community partners like Pearman Oil and Gas LP and Methodist Midlothian Medical Center.
Across social media platforms, ECS made over 800k impressions on more than 190k unique accounts and just under 135k content views (links or videos) over its first year as a standalone media outlet.
The Sun published its first newspaper in early 2018 and became the official newspaper of record for the City of Waxahachie the following year.
Scott Brooks, publisher of The Sun, has since launched several successful podcasts, ventured into local business awards and has several new projects on the horizon.
Brooks expressed that “this partnership to bring the good people of Ellis County topnotch sports coverage is an exciting new venture for us. The connections, in-depth knowledge, and ability Travis has to cover various sports are extraordinary and uniquely strong. The partnership not only makes great sense, it will also provide various platforms through which local sports fans of all walks can listen to and read about their favorite teams in Ellis County. Along with ECS, our commitment to take sports coverage to the next level is great.”
The faces representing ECS and The Sun will all be familiar — from play-by-play voices to photographers to retired local coaches or business development representatives. These individuals have been — and have the desire to remain — invested in our student-athletes, coaches, programs and communities. You’ll see them on the sidelines and in bylines, hear them on podcasts and during live play-by-play coverage, and they’ll be there applauding during signing days and graduations.
“ECS has proven there is still a great appetite and need for hyperlocal sports coverage, just as The Sun has done on the news side,” said Smith, who was previously hired by Brooks as the WDL managing editor in 2016. “Both teams have learned firsthand how detrimental corporate or large-group ownership can be to our efforts, and we will all be better for those lessons. This new partnership ensures our efforts remain focused on our local communities and provides strengths to both ECS and The Sun where there were previously weaknesses.
“Sports, especially high school athletics, have always served as a connector and community builder in each of our Ellis County communities. There’s nothing like the excitement of a deep playoff run or the pride that comes after a state championship victory. Our mission is to celebrate those efforts and then some in ways that truly reflect our communities and passion for sports.”
Both media groups are evermore and proudly the home of the “homer,” meaning our student-athletes, coaches and programs will always be the highlight. We hope you enjoy, support and share all that comes from this new partnership between The Waxahachie Sun and Ellis County Sports.
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For more information or to inquire about sponsorships/advertising, send an email to tsmith@elliscosports.com.
