The Minnesota Star Tribune’s first subbrand has a big goal: to become our state’s new favorite destination for every flavor of high school sports coverage. There’s a lot to learn about Strib Varsity, and here’s a varsity starter set of 10 facts:

(1) One subscription gets you everything Star Tribune and Strib Varsity

Star Tribune subscribers: Strib Varsity is all yours. Have at it. Dive in. Your subscription just got more valuable. Thank you for your support and business. A Star Tribune subscription now gets you access to the full sweep of Strib Varsity offerings, plus every corner of startribune.com. To those who’ve been on the fence about subscribing or hadn’t considered it much: Join the team, and do so by taking advantage of our Strib Varsity sale on our subscription price, right here.

(2) A homepage for every school

We lost count somewhere near 500. Whatever the final number is, every high school that competes in MSHSL varsity sports now has its own homepage, produced and published by us here at the Minnesota Star Tribune. These Strib Varsity homepages will feature stories that have statewide appeal and coverage specific to each school. Find the “Schools” tab at the top of the website and explore. These school pages are connected to an expanded offering of Hubs sports sites: We now have 32 of those, including fast-growing sports clay target and girls flag football.

(3) More journalists, more coverage

How often have you read lately that a regional news organization is doubling the size of one of its coverage teams? Not often, if at all, but that’s the investment from the Minnesota Star Tribune. The reporting and editing team at the Star Tribune focused on high school sports now numbers in the double digits, with experienced veterans who can cover our communities and issues with authority, and newcomers bringing fresh eyes and ears to the scene. Those popular sports Hubs pages, all 32 of them, won’t fill themselves. Read about our team expansion here.

(4) Read, yes, and watch, too

You’ll be able to watch more livestreamed games and events on our website than ever before, starting later this month. We’ll also have weekly videos to watch, and even a live show on football nights, featuring this guy …

(5) Hello again, Randy

Football nights in Minnesota just weren’t the same last season without Randy Shaver giving us the late-night rundown, live in the studio. Shaver, a free agent after leaving KARE-11 last summer, jumped at the opportunity to get back in the hot seat. “Strib Varsity Live with Randy Shaver” will debut Aug. 28 at 9:30 p.m., streamed on stribvarsity.com and startribune.com. It’ll be Shaver at his best, we’re sure of that. Tune in!

(6) New socials

Make sure you’re following the news, updates from across Minnesota and a bunch of fun by following Strib Varsity on social media:

On Instagram.

On X.

On YouTube.

On Facebook.

On TikTok.

(7) Make it yours

On your first trip through Strib Varsity, look for the star icon at the top of the website. There you’ll be able to select schools, teams and sports you want to follow, and we’ll surface stories and video that match your selections. As Strib Varsity expands later this year, we’ll be rolling out more personalization features.

(8) But wait, there’s more …

This is just the beginning for Strib Varsity. We have a dozen more features in the works for our website, subscriber-only newsletter, social channels, video and more. Keep an eye on us as we grow and improve. We love ideas from our readers and Minnesota high school sports fans, too, so email us any time at varsity@startribune.com.

(9) State Fair snack on us

Come find us at the Minnesota Star Tribune booth at the State Fair on Aug. 26, “Strib Varsity Day at the Fair,” and we’ll buy you a snack. It’ll be on me, and we’ll chit-chat about high school sports while gobbling up something on a stick.

(10) Subscriber bonus: newsletter just for you

We’re trying many new things here, as you can tell. Here’s another: a subscriber-only newsletter, written for our loyal customers with highlights of the week, a little humor, a lot of celebrating, behind-the-scenes peeks at how we do our jobs, and more. Current subscribers, look for an invitation email later this week to “The Quiz: Strib Varsity’s newsletter.” Any new subscribers to Strib Varsity will receive The Quiz when it launches later this month.

Thank you for being interested in Strib Varsity. We hope you dive in and explore Minnesota’s new destination for all things high school sports. And don’t forget to come say hello at the State Fair.