May 1, 2026
May 1, 2026
Lynden High School
Lynden High School partnered with Scoreboard Media to install a full indoor video scoreboard system and launch a managed sponsorship program in its storied basketball gym. In less than a year, the boards have generated significant revenue for the school, created new hands-on opportunities for students, and become a centerpiece for school and community events well beyond athletics.
“Scoreboard Media has definitely added to the excitement of sporting events as well as school events because of the scoreboards.”
— Mike McKee, Athletic Director, Lynden High School
Lynden is a 2A high school that plays well above its size. The Lions have built one of the most respected athletic programs in the state of Washington, with multiple consecutive girls’ basketball state championships and a state title in the inaugural season of flag football. The gym itself, built in 1981, regularly draws thousands of fans on game nights.
But like most athletic directors in the state, Mike McKee was working against tight budgets. When a new scoreboard system started turning heads at nearby Ferndale High School, Lynden’s ASB students noticed — and started asking questions. Mike faced a familiar challenge: how to deliver a first-class fan experience for a program operating on limited resources, without putting his athletic department in the red.
He also understood something bigger was at stake. With student participation in athletics declining nationwide, and Lynden’s programs riding real momentum, Mike saw a narrow window to invest in something that would keep kids engaged and make every game feel like an event.
“It’s a time in history where student participation is getting harder and harder. Anything we can do to make something more of an event, to give kids a vision of something they want to be part of rather than sit at home on their computers — that’s a pretty big deal.”
— Mike McKee, Athletic Director, Lynden High School
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Mike first heard about Scoreboard Media through a network of fellow athletic directors at neighboring Ferndale and Sehome High Schools who had already seen what the boards could do for a program.
What stood out wasn’t just the product. It was the structure of the partnership itself:
The partnership offered a path to upgrade the gym experience without writing a six-figure check out of the athletic budget, and to bring local sponsors on as partners in the process. After connecting with Scoreboard Media, Mike quickly moved forward.
“I did it knowing it was going to be a lot of work to get off the ground. But I did it because I wanted to make it more of an event. I thought that was important. I thought getting out in front of it was really important.”
— Mike McKee, Athletic Director, Lynden High School
The full indoor system was installed at the tail end of volleyball season and came online in time for basketball season, and we hit the ground running on securing sponsors. Mike works closely with Cole Tuorto, his Scoreboard Media sponsorship coordinator. Cole operates as a true extension of the Lynden athletic department — handling every sales conversation, contracts, creating and uploading the ads, and managing renewals – removing the administrative burden of running a sponsorship program.
What that frees Mike up to do is what he does best: open doors. Mike has emerged as one of Scoreboard Media's most active referral partners, connecting Cole directly with local business owners across the Lynden community. Cole takes it from there and every referral Mike makes flows back into Lynden's revenue share. Because his network runs deep, those referrals have already generated a significant and sustainable revenue stream for the school.
That revenue is going towards live game broadcasts, supporting the student media team, and giving the athletic department resources it didn't have before. As Mike's sponsor base continues to grow, so does Lynden's share, creating a compounding return that gets stronger every season.
“It’s been a really good working partnership. Cole’s been fantastic. He handles it well, he’s good at what he does, and I’m glad I have that to work with as I’m navigating this.”
— Mike McKee, Athletic Director, Lynden High School
Lynden already had one of the best basketball atmospheres in the state. The video boards took it to another level.
Player introductions, highlight graphics, and student-produced content have made every game night feel like a production. Even opposing teams get the spotlight — Lynden’s student crew takes headshots of visiting players before tip-off and puts them up on the board alongside the home team. Fans notice. Players notice. And the buzz carries well beyond the final buzzer.
“Even our players notice it. And the better we got with the graphics, the more the engagement was. Even the basic model, when you put it up there, it’s pretty spectacular. It’s added to the fandom, it’s added to the engagement overall, it’s added to the excitement.”
— Mike McKee, Athletic Director, Lynden High School
Mike frames the investment in terms every AD understands: Concessions at a game aren’t a major revenue driver on their own, but they’re there because they make the night feel like an event. The scoreboards, he says, work the same way — and in a town where Friday nights in the gym are already tradition, that extra layer of production has become part of what makes Lynden, Lynden.
“When you’re trying to keep kids excited about what they’re doing and build a program, that matters.”
— Mike McKee, Athletic Director, Lynden High School
One of the most meaningful outcomes has been what the boards unlocked for Lynden students. Mike recruited six top students from the school’s FBLA chapter and built a student graphics team, now a core part of every home game.
Lynden now runs its own preseason Media Day, where athletes come in for team and individual photos that the student crew uses to build out graphics for the full year.
Mike sees even bigger potential ahead. His long-term goal is to get the media program formalized as an elective class, so the work students are already doing on game nights is recognized as a real skill path.
For students who love athletics but aren’t Division I recruits, Lynden has effectively built a new on-ramp: a way to stay in the game, learn professional-level software, and pick up skills that translate directly to careers in sports media, marketing, and broadcast production.
Beyond the Game: School-Wide Impact
The boards have quickly become a resource for the whole school, not just athletics. Lynden has used them for assemblies, orientation, sports recognition nights, and the school’s Hall of Fame event. Anytime the gym is in use outside of games, the scoreboards are utilized by the school to enhance the event.
As Mike’s team continues to build capacity, the list of use cases keeps expanding. The boards have turned the gym into a flexible venue that can elevate any moment worth celebrating.
“It’s helped us highlight certain individuals in a more tangible, intentional way that impacts them more positively than we could do before. And that’s always good.”
— Mike McKee, Athletic Director, Lynden High School
Word has traveled quickly. Mike has already been contacted by other athletic directors asking about the system, and nearby districts have begun exploring Scoreboard Media partnerships of their own after seeing the Lynden setup in person.
Lynden is less than a year into the partnership and still actively expanding how it uses the system. Revenue is going directly toward running the program’s live game broadcasts and flowing back into future athletics.
Mike is candid that year one has involved real work. But sitting on the other side of a basketball season with a packed gym, a trained student crew, a growing sponsor roster, and state championship banners going up, his answer on whether it was worth it is clear.
“Overall, as I sit here now, it’s been a really good thing. It’s engaged us with advertisers, the kids love it, and it’s another way to market our programs and our school.”
— Mike McKee, Athletic Director, Lynden High School
For a basketball town that’s used to being ahead of the curve, the scoreboards aren’t a finish line. They’re the next piece of infrastructure Lynden is using to stay out in front.
When asked what he’d tell another athletic director considering Scoreboard Media, Mike didn’t hesitate:
“It would be a super positive thing for your school. It would help you build program at a faster rate — and there are very few things outside of kids actually playing their sport that can do that. It’s a positive experience. Once you get your arms around it, you won’t look back.”
— Mike McKee, Athletic Director, Lynden High School
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