What’s in a name? The evolution of school names.
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Updated: June 5, 2015
You can't tell the teams without a scorecard!
Does it matter what your school name is? Of course it does... I just wish we could agree on a standard.
I saw Leander Vista Ridge listed among the teams in the Belton 7on7 State Qualifying Tournament pools and it brought to mind an issue that has been creeping around Texas high school football for some time.
Sure, there have always been schools that have name changes, but it was very noticeable a few years back when a boatload of San Antonio schools became known as Northside.
District 27 6A
Northside Brandeis
Northside Brennan
Northside Clark
Northside Holmes
Northside Jay
Northside Marshall
Northside O'Connor
Northside Stevens
Northside Taft
Northside Warren
For as long as football fans can remember, the names San Antonio Clark, San Antonio O'Connor etc. rolled easily off our tongues. Seemingly overnight, they became known as Northside Clark, Northside O'Connor etc. So what gives?
To simplify things at Lone Star Gridiron, we have always deferred to the University Interscholastic League (UIL.) When the UIL started referring to these schools as Northside, so did we.
Back to Leander Vista Ridge. The school is in the city of Cedar Park but in the Leander school district. Is this the trend? Will the district push to make Cedar Park Vista Ridge known as Leander Vista Ridge? As of now, the UIL (and LSG) still refer to the team as Cedar Park Vista Ridge. In fact, the whole Austin area is awash is team known by many names. I have seen Leander Vandegrift referred to as Austin Vandegrift. I have seen just about every team in the Austin area called by their suburb, their school district and just Austin.
Randall is another great example. The school is Randall. The city is Amarillo. The District is Canyon. We know them as Canyon Randall. Or Saginaw Boswell - sometimes referred to as Fort Worth Boswell? And what about Fort Worth Brewer - also known as White Settlement Brewer? Or Canyon Lake - also known as Fischer or Fischer Canyon Lake.
Will all the school across the state become known by their district names? It won't change anything for quite few of them, but it does make one wonder who is the ultimate arbiter of what a school should be called? Yes, the school district makes the decision, I just wish it were consistent.
And one last twist to further confuse - there is the case of where myself and Mike Wright played football - known as Vanderbilt Industrial. The city is Vanderbilt, the school district is Industrial - so they use both! Its enough to make your head spin!
by Chris Doelle
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