Frenship ISD announces Memorial High School colors and mascot

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - It is a historic time for Frenship ISD.

On Thursday, the district unveiled the mascot and school colors for its new Memorial High School, as voted on by students.

The Frenship ISD school board revealed Memorial High School’s mascot will be the Panthers. It’s the first school in district history that won’t be the Tigers.

Frenship ISD Superintendent Michelle McCord says, “The last time we did this Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the president of the United States.”

The announcement comes after two days of voting by middle school students from Heritage and Terra Vista. The district wanted the students who would be attending Memorial High School to have the final say, so they brought in real voting machines for students to cast their ballots.

Haven Torres, an 8th grader at Terra Vista says, “It was actually really cool because you got to be a part of history, you got to be a part of starting Frenship Memorial High School. It was really cool to start.”

A spirit committee of alumni, community members and students narrowed down the mascot and color choices to the top three. However, after the votes were counted, Panthers won by a landslide.

Ben Trevey, an 8th grader at Heritage says, “I was a part of the committee to choose the panther. I personally really like the panther. It is very cool, and a strong animal and I am very excited to be a future panther.”

Although each student we spoke to said having a hand in their high school’s future makes the transition a little easier, no longer being a Tiger is bittersweet.

“It is sad moving away from the tiger but it is something new and you want to start new because when you have been a Frenship Tiger for a long time, having a new beginning is perfectly fine, but it will be sad to not be a tiger anymore,” Torres said.

One thing is for sure, those middle schoolers paved the way for what lies ahead.

“I got to be a part of a brand-new beginning for a whole new generation of kids. I kinda influenced their future, it was very exciting,” Trevey said.

Come fall of 2025, fans will be cheering on the Memorial High Panthers, in Frenship Blue and a lighter bright blue.

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