NevadaPrep.com has been sold to Yerington resident Herb Hall, who will take over operation of the 9-year-old Web site sometime this summer, the Web site's founder, Chuck Hildebrand, has announced.

"I'm delighted that somebody with Herb's extensive high school sports background has stepped forward to continue the site's operation," said Hildebrand, who had announced that the site would be shut down in July if a suitable buyer could not be found by the end of May.

"I was sailing in uncharted waters in 1998 when I began this operation, and I think it was to my advantage that I was able to bring backgrounds in both journalism and coaching to the table," said Hildebrand. "Herb will take this on using a similar formula, and I believe readers will find this site both informative and refreshing on Herb's watch."

Hall, a native of Ohio, majored in English and minored in journalism at Kent State University, and worked for the News-Herald in Willoughby, Ohio, before redirecting his career toward coaching and teaching. He was head basketball coach at Yerington from 1991-93, and more recently was an assistant coach at McQueen and Wooster. He has operated his own business, Yerington-based Double H Painting & Stain, since 1996.

"Herb knows basketball, he knows high school sports, he knows kids, he knows the business world, he knows our readership, he knows what NevadaPrep.com has been attempting to do, and he knows the state of Nevada," Hildebrand said. "That should ensure his success in that endeavor. And he's passionate about everything he does, as anybody who has played for him can attest.

"I think our readers will like his work and the unique perspective he will bring to it, and I hope they will feel a proprietary interest in NevadaPrep.com and do everything they can to provide him with the information and cooperation he'll need to continue and extend the website's scope and success."

NevadaPrep.com has averaged 16,180 hits per day over the 12 months ending in March, which, if translated into newspaper circulation, would make it the fourth-largest media publication in the state. Traffic averaged 22,431 hits from September through February, with a high of 26,407 during October.

"This is going to be Herb's site from now on," Hildebrand said. "Although I certainly will offer help and advice if he asks for it, the site will reflect his priorities and expertise, not mine, and the content henceforth will be generated by him, not me.

"I'll miss the Nevada high school sports scene and most of the people connected with it, and I want to thank those people for making this the most rewarding period of my career in many respects. But it's time for me to move on to other projects."

Hildebrand is working on two books, one of which - a biography of recently-retired Santa Clara men's basketball coach Dick Davey - should be published by the end of this year.

Although a timetable for the transfer of ownership is not in place, Hall will begin preparatory work immediately, and will be fully responsible for all content by the time the fall sports season begins in August.

Hall can be contacted by phone at 1-775-463-2260, or by e-mail at herbrach@quixnet.net. Those addresses, along with NevadaPrep.com's new mailing address, will be posted soon on the Contact Us page.